Save Me From the Cold
by PianoPanda
Summary: They've known each other forever. But she shut him out. She's just another one of those introverted freaks. He's an amazing star. But he loves her. And she didn't know that. She loves him too. But he didn't know that either. He wants to fix her once and for all. All they need is a little bit of love. JackxElsa Highschool AU, includes other Disney characters.
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! This is a new fic I'm writing about Frozen and Rise of the Guardians. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! By the way, shout out to MaydayParade8123 for giving me awesome writing tips. Go check her out; she's amazing! The first chunk of this is inspired by the way she does prologues sometimes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own these movies or characters, though I made up Jack's sister's name.**

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She is quiet. Almost unnoticed, but people still know her. Reading, drawing, writing music, unpopular.

He is outgoing. Everyone sees, knows him. Sports, tech club, tennis, ice hockey, popular.

She is head of the arts board, one of the two boards under the president. She's a great leader, it's just everyone overlooks her. So really, it's sort of their fault she's ice cold.

He is the president of the student body. He's a leader, though he listens to others and others care about him. He wrote a great speech but at the same time people don't hate him for winning. He's fun, they think.

She's just another one of those introverted freaks.

He's an amazing star.

But he loves her. And she didn't know that.

She loves him too. But he didn't know that either.

He wants to fix her once and for all.

All they need is a little bit of love.

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She knew where he lived. She walked over everyday, after all. She was seven years old. Everyday, after school, she walked home with Jack and his mommy. They tickled each other. They chased each other around the garden, then went to Jack's and ate some oreos and milk and played for a bit before her mom came to take her home, which was really just next door.

Girls at school thought it was weird that she was friends with a boy; "eew, Elsa has cooties!" they screeched, and tugged the bows out of her braid and ran away. But Elsa wasn't hurt. She could rarely be hurt, always slightly numb to emotional pain. Or she appeared so, at least.

After all, Jack was just like her brother. He didn't have cooties. Her mommy and Jack's mommy were very good friends, and Ms. Frost treated her very very nicely. They even lived right next door!

And her mommy also said to never listen to what other girls said about her; it wasn't important, and it didn't matter what they said because her mom told her she was pretty.

Jack never tugged out her braid. And if the bows fell, he always bent down onto the ground and picked them up for her. Then he'd give her a big hug and say "Tag, you're it!" The two would be off, running around the playground until the teacher said that it was time to go inside.

She had a little sister named Anna, two years younger. They get along really well, like all sisters do. Most of all, they loved to play in the snow. Sometimes, Jack came too, with his little sister, Mara. They played together, chorusing in giggles and smiles as Elsa and Jack pushed the snowmen around on the ice, their little sisters skating in front, laughing as they chased each other. But when Elsa was seven, it all changed.

Jack loved to have fun. Anna loved fun. Mara loved it too. Elsa knew what was fun, but she had always been concerned about safety first. Somehow, Jack convinced her to come skating with the three of them.

As soon as she reached the ice, all of her fear faded away as she slid her skates onto the cold, smooth surface. Jack took her hand as they skate out into the middle of the pond, going in circles again and again as their little sisters trailed behind.

"Try to catch us!" Jack yelled, laughing loudly. He rapped his staff on the ice a few times as he skated, drawing lines and squiggles on the lightly snow-dusted ice. The little ones squealed as they scuttled along.

But suddenly, there was a thud. And while turning her head around to try and see what or more like who had fallen, Elsa's skates dug into the ice as she fell sideways onto her hip. She winced at the initial pain, but was more concerned about what had happened behind her. She craned her neck to see Jack crossing the ice quickly to help his sister, who had cracked the surface beneath her. Elsa winced again, the pain seeping through her hipbone as she shifted position.

Anna raced in her direction, a smile on her face, and Elsa knew by the feel of the sharp cracks beneath her that this was not going to turn out nicely, but she smiled anyways. Anna's two brown braids flared out to the side and she grinned even bigger because she knew that Elsa was okay.

But Elsa knew that it was everything but okay.

Her thump on the ice had created more than just a large bruise on her right hip; it had caused a large fissure to form in the ice, spreading rapidly with every muscle she moved.

"Anna, no!" She screamed, quickly realizing what was going to happen.

But with every step that Anna took, the fissure spread more and more.

"Elsie, I'm gonna get you!" Anna called, her smile widening. "I'm gonna–"

Her face changed suddenly, going from joyous and innocent to frightened and stiff. Her entire body froze in place, drinking in her unstable surroundings.

"E-Elsa?" she whimpered, beginning to cry. Elsa knew that Anna could see the cracks spreading underneath her feet.

Both supported by a precarious area of ice, Elsa thought quickly to find something, anything, that would help them.

"Here, Anna," she said, smiling and struggling to stand up without cracking the ice further. She winced as she got onto her feet, both from the small "pop" the ice gave off and the stinging pain in her hip.

"Move toward me, come on." Elsa crooned, reaching her hand toward her sister. Elsa skated forward slightly, as gently as possible, and rather successfully considering that she barely cracked anything.

But Anna stayed still where she stood, sobbing lightly into her mitten covered hands. "Elsa, no, I can't! I'm too scared, the ice is going to break!"

Elsa sighted. This was not going to be as easy as she'd hoped, let alone the fact that there was ice rapidly cracking beneath her feet. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she sang, like her mother used to sing to Anna to get her to come outside during the winter when Elsa was sick. "Then come right here to me, don't worry Anna, I'm right here, there is no need to fear, yes can't you see?"

Anna began to smile, slowly, as if a small flame had been reignited inside of her again. She wiped off her nearly frozen tears as the two sisters inched closer and closer together. But as soon as Anna came over a patch of ice that cracked beneath her, she stopped again, panicked.

Upon seeing the little bit of frozen water that was keeping her sister alive nearly give away, Elsa's voice cracked in the slightest. But she kept the smile on her face and inched towards her sister, and kept singing to get her to move.

"Come right out here and join me, it's so much fun, what do you want to do? Do you wanna build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman."

By this time in Elsa's shaky singing, the two had nearly reached each other. But the cracks were spreading faster than they could move. Elsa could feel the fissures expanding and getting bigger as she inched forward, and she knew she only had a total of a few seconds before she would plunge into the freezing waters. In a last act of desperation, she grabbed Anna's shoulders and threw to the left as hard as she could.

She knew that she shift in weight was going to change the way the ice was oriented; before it gave away completely, she skated to the other side of the pond, in her top speed, away from the fissure. Without any weight, the ice lingered in its fixed position rather precariously.

Not yet able to recover from the near-death scare, Elsa took a few deep breaths, and in spite of herself, she began to laugh.

"Anna, Anna did you see that? We're alive! I saved you! Anna? Anna where–" Elsa's blood ran cold as she looked around for her sister. She spotted a head of brown hair and and a dark green dress. Disregarding the fact that she was still wearing her skates, Elsa ran as quickly as possible to her sister, kneeling down beside her small figure. Snow covered her head (seeing that she had slid into the snow, off of the pond) and made it appear as if her reddish-brown hair was covered with white streaks.

"A-Anna?" Elsa asked, voice careful, on the verge of breaking. "Anna, wake up." She began more and more hysteric with every breath she took.

To her great mercy, Anna's eyes fluttered open, and though clouded with disorientation, Elsa was far beyond ecstatic.

She hugged her little sister, whispering all the while: "It's okay, Anna, I got you. It's okay."

Anna groaned slightly, not wanting to move an inch because of her throbbing head.

"Head, head hurts," she managed to croak out before closing her eyes in exhaustion.

Elsa gasped and called for Jack and Mara to come over. They came quickly and with Anna's weight on all three of them, the four retreated back to their house, carrying her in.

* * *

From that day on, nothing was ever the same for Elsa. Sure, she was still same old Elsa in terms of how cold she was and how she ignored any sort of physical pain. But she was colder than before to everyone else. She rarely went outside anymore with Jack, Mara, and Anna in the winter. Shame and guilt burdened her everyday because if she hadn't fallen, Anna wouldn't have almost gotten herself killed, and Elsa wouldn't have given her that bad headache that didn't go away for a week. Anna also wouldn't have that white streak in her hair because of the area of cells that had been frozen over by the snow.

Bottom line was that Elsa blamed herself for Anna's getting hurt, and as much as Anna told her that she was forgiven and that it was no one's fault, Elsa only felt more guilty. She locked herself away more and more to keep herself from hurting those who she loved, which was her worst fear. She really did love them, but she pushed them away only because she knew that she had the potential ability to hurt them.

Elsa's life basically plunged downhill after the accident that happened when she and Jack were seven and eight and Mara and Anna were five. She lived in fear, consumed with guilt and shame, and she isolated herself from everyone, the ones she loved more than all.

Over the next few years, she opened up again over time. A bit to Mara, lots to Anna, but mostly to Jack. He somehow managed to melt the walls that she'd put around herself again.

But when she was 16, her parents died in a car accident, rendering herself to shut down again, living in solitude and avoiding human contact as much as possible. It was the only way to keep herself from being hurt again by losing someone she loved. It was also the only way, she thought, to keep herself from hurting the ones that she cared about most.

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**So what did you think? Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! R&R please, let me know!**

**~PianoPanda**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! A huge shout out and thanks to my awesome reviewers and followers! You guys mean so much to me, and it's really encouraging, so thank you all so much! Normally I don't update this frequently, but I was inspired to do so after getting so much good feedback! Disclaimer: I own nothing. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Elsa's POV**

My name is Elsa. Elsa Arendelle. I'm sixteen years old, a junior in high school. My life has been… a little less than tragic, if you will. There's a lot that I've been through, and to shorten my sob story to the bottom line, I can't bear to hurt anyone I love, nor can I face losing a loved one.

A lot has led up to me being who I am today, but the people around me perceive me as the following things: an introverted nerd, a freaky sadist, a mysterious threat, and the list continues.

Needless to say, I really don't have that many friends at all. I'm the "nobody" of Wintervale High School. It's not like I can afford to care about what others think about me, though. Because I can't change a thing. Sometimes, in my stranger moments, I think things like "huh, why don't we try to socialize a little more," or crazy things like that. But I know that a connection to someone will just bring more pain, as it already had.

After I hurt Anna, I was filled with not only guilt but a horrible sense of shame. If I had just stopped her from coming skating or making her stay home, maybe that wouldn't have happened. If I had just been a little more responsible, she wouldn't have gotten the concussion that made a number of cells on her scalp die off, turning a strand of her hair white because of the lack of nutrition. It's all my fault! Maybe if I'd been more gentle when I'd thrown her, or thought of the consequences of smiling at her to begin with, leading her towards me, or if I had just had the slightest more sense of authority to coax her out of the way.

And my creative mind came up with tens of hundreds of different "what-ifs." I couldn't even see her some days, Anna that is, because of how badly I felt. A sister's love for her sister is greater than many close bonds. There's a sense of need and closeness that can't be broken, and at the same a huge surge of protective instincts.

I know that Anna misses me, but I just can't bear to hurt her ever again. Because if that were to happen, I don't think mercy would grant me another chance.

I'm alone. I tried to avoid talking to anybody at all after I hurt Anna that one time, but eventually, I managed to warm up a bit to none other than my best friend, Jack. He was always there, or most of the time at least. Every night, we'd stay up for hours just emailing eachother about random chit chat on our itouches. You see, we both had the really really old ones that didn't use imessage or anything, so email was the way to go. Besides, this was when we were… maybe… twelve or thirteen years old? We kept up in close contact to each other, up until a few months ago.

Eventually, though, my family got the "old me" back for some time. The four of us would sit around the coffee table with either a Monopoly game board to play, or we'd watch funny shows together. It was, truthfully speaking, some of the most fun I ever had. Sometimes, on snowy mornings, Anna would come to my door and to the special knock between the two of us and sing the song to me as she barged into my room, urging me to build a snowman. I, being the kind sister, obliged, but of course, safety first.

But when Mom and Dad died a couple months ago… I still can't think about it for too long. That was when I cut off contact from Jack and shut Anna out. My parents were the last ones I could depend on to never leave me. And who would think that fate would take them away. Of course, Anna was hurt by it too. But I don't think she understood how much pain, exactly, it put me through.

What makes it all worse is that they lost control on a patch of black ice. Of all things. Ice. It seems that the cold really does hate me after all.

After that, well, it was mostly just people talking around me, me not hearing it, and a whole lot of avoiding any sort of human contact. I haven't spoken since then, either. Most kids at school assume I'm some sort of screwed up mute.

School was always rough. I'm a junior now; God knows how I survived freshman and sophomore year. I wasn't really completely open to talking to others, apart from the ones I was already comfortable with. Although, I have to admit, having a familiar face around me never hurt. Even though he wasn't in the same year, I still saw him around the halls. Jack. My childhood best friends. He made me smile and almost die laughing with the emails that he sent, and he'd never fail to at least make me smirk. We'd get together every sunday, well that is, again, before my parents died.

I haven't talked to him for a few months now. Truth be told, I really miss him. But then again, I really miss Anna, and Mara too, but I can't risk getting hurt and hurting others ever again.

I found this quote one time when I was surfing the web: "Don't let them in, don't let them see, conceal, don't feel, don't let them know." And how fitting it was! It described everything I was going through so perfectly. It's been my motto for a while now. Limiting my human interaction was the safest way to go, really. I've managed to teach myself to draw really well, and I'm a self taught pianist. I write my own songs and pen them down, but then of course, I haven't had the guts to sing them yet. Because if Anna were to hear me… it would only result in another broken soul, and I can't bear it if she were to turn out like me.

For the past few months, considering my parents passed in December, I've gotten nothing but looks of sympathy from everyone at school. I'm sick and tired of people looking at me and Anna like we're a huge charity case. I mean, thanks, but it doesn't really help all that much that people remind us of it by giving apologetic glances.

And this is why they call me cold; I'm not exactly the person to sugar-coat everything.

Anna is doing well in ninth grade; she has her group of friends, not too popular but not like me either. I think she'd do better without me; as the reject of the junior class, talking to her during the day would only chuck her down the hierarchy. And I wouldn't want to put her through that pain.

I should probably explain why I hate this concept of pain so much. Well, first off, it's not very comfortable. For me, particularly, hurting someone else is like hurting myself in that way tenfold. Every time I see that person afterwards, its as if a huge, blunt pestle is being shoved into my ribcage, and hot boiling rocks are being forced down my throat because all I can think of are the countless apologies that I need to give, and that person that so easily manages to forgive me… they don't understand what they say! It's not okay! I hurt the and I could easily hurt them again!

I love my sister so much. But in order to keep the both of us from experiencing pain is by taking myself out of the picture.

Jack, then, is almost the exact same. The connection I have, or had, rather, was just like that of a brother and sister. He's one year older, which makes him even more like a brotherly figure to me.

At school, Jack gives me small smiles and waves from time to time, and I'm glad that he respects my space. He and Anna are really the only ones that do. Again, another reason why I love them so much, which results as needing to shut them out even more.

To be completely honest, I hate being alone. But its the only way to keep everyone else safe. I have hurt my sister, and I don't want to hurt anyone again. I have no choice but to stay away.

The next time I used my voice to speak was three months after my parents' death when Jack left a small note in my locker: "Hey Elsa. You don't have to. But if you want, just come talk to me. You know where. -J"

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**Thanks for reading, guys! Please R&R, I will be taking requests for ideas, and even if I don't use them they will help me a lot in terms of where to lead the story. Criticism is welcome, just no flames please. Also, if you have any questions about the plot or anything, feel free to ask. Thanks guys!**

**~PianoPanda**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! So it's the weekend, here's another chapter! Thanks for being so supportive and following this story and favorite-ing it! Means a lot to me :) Disclaimer: I own nothing. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Jack's POV**

I. Don't understand. At all. Fate, that is. I don't understand fate at all.

Because of me. Because of Elsa. Because of everything that's ever happened to anybody. I don't understand fate at all.

When Anna and Elsa knocked on my front door the night their parents died, I knew immediately before the police had called that something was wrong. Because first, it was two in the morning, and second, Elsa was crying.

Let me explain something. Elsa and I are best friends. Or were, at different points in time. Point is, I know her almost as well as her own sister does, if not better. We've constantly been there for each other, even through some… difficult events.

But back to Elsa's crying. The girl doesn't cry in front of people. I mean, maybe sometimes when we email she'll ask if we can Skype (because I didn't ever use iChat) and she'd just break down.

But in front of Anna, Elsa was always strong. She was always the rock, the comforting pillar that was always there to stand firm. But this time, this time she just collapsed. I opened the door and there in front of me sat a sobbing Anna in Elsa's arms, her face stained with tear tracks of her own.

The rest of the night was just a huge flurry for all of us. It was so surreal, so strange that someone, or two someones, could just flit away within a few hours. After that, I was determined to live life to the fullest everyday. Yeah, kind of like the YOLO way of living (of course with good judgement, sometimes), but also to meet new people every day and love someone as much as you can and let them know that, because after Elsa's parents died, I realized that some will pass right before your eyes, and there will be nothing but regret to fill the void where those people once stood.

Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Arendelle had told their children that they would have been home after an hour or so. Elsa told me in the hospital while we were waiting that it was one of the most terrifying things that had ever happened as seven ticked to eight and eight to nine and ten and onwards. Countless phone calls and texts were sent, but to no avail. And that night, a part of her died with her parents.

When the doctors came out and told us that they were gone, the way she didn't crumple up and cry like Anna did, the way she didn't sit there and stare straight ahead like my mom did, the way she didn't put her head in hands like Mara did, the way she just sat there, eyes closed, and leaned into my shoulder; that told me that a part of her had been lost. She closed her eyes as if she wished to fade away as soon as possible, as if she didn't ever want to face the reality of life ever again. She just leaned on my shoulder, and I put my arm around her, not sure of what else to do.

Since that day, for the past few months, she was never the same. After she hurt Anna, she shut out for a bit, but she came back eventually. The two of us would stay up until twelve or one in the morning sometimes, just emailing each other about whatever had happened in the day of whatever problems we may have had. We were always there for each other, just like a brother and sister. We'd tell each other "I love you" on some of our emails before bed, and when we needed one, we'd give each other hugs for comfort, to know that we'd always be there for each other.

And despite the endless teasing I got from Flynn and Hiccup, my best friends from school, Elsa was always just my sister.

For some reason that will always be beyond me, Elsa was often victimized in bullying. Other girls thought she was some creepy freakish girl, and for some reason, they don't get along so well with her, and the guys think she's a total freak of nature. Honestly, I never got it! She's got good looks (I as her brother am allowed to say that,) she has such a great heart and amazing intentions, and she has the best personality. It really doesn't get much better than Elsa, so anytime I hear any sort of trash going around about her, I tell people to stop.

But now? What now? Everyone thinks she's a charity case. Everyone thinks she's some weak damsel in distress who lost her parents. I know that she's everything but that. I have to say, Elsa does have some strange coping mechanisms. But it's not like anyone else could comprehend when they were only seven that an accident like the one Anna had could be indirectly linked to being Elsa's fault.

I respect the fact that she needs her space, but I'm not going to lie and say that I don't miss her indirect presence at night, because I really do. I haven't had anyone to really talk about heart-to-heart matters to for the past few months. I'm just hoping that she'll come back this time.

For the past few months, Elsa's life has been more than difficult. Luckily, there was a couple willing to take Elsa and Anna in who lives in our neighborhood. But everything else is essentially a mess.

I've been shooting her a few emails recently, a few times a week, just to see if she'll maybe respond. Of course, my futile efforts were repaid with none other than an empty silence. I don't know what I expected. Maybe… finally to have fun with her again?

I remember after this one time when I was having some… trouble with certain things, and at school I seemed so normal yet at night when I was talking to Elsa, I seemed so empty and sad. Elsa asked me how I managed to keep up the facade, a task that she always failed at. I told her that without fun, I wouldn't be able to exist. I called it my center, a concept I learned from my distant distant uncle. It was basically what defined us as a person, or the trait that made us most unique. Fun was my center. If I didn't seem happy and playful at school, everyone would know that something was wrong. I explained to her it would be like Merida with straight, tamed hair, to try and lighten the mood. She'd replied to me with an email that still shocks me now: "I guess I only have to stay cold, then, since people think my heart is frozen."

I've been scared and a bit worried about her recently. I know in the past she's had a rather creative mind and she tends to think really morbidly when she feels the need to. There was this one time where I almost started crying because she sent me these few emails that almost sounded… like suicide. It dug into me harder than anything else, because aside from Mara and my mom, she was the one I loved the most.

I'm just hoping she'll open up again in time.

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Being alone freaking sucks. I'm a senior, but I've been pretty codependent on Elsa for a long long time. These few months without her again have taken its toll on me.

So today, during free, I slipped a note into her locker. It was nothing but a simple request for her to meet up with me just to talk to her again, so that she could maybe start to open up again. I didn't expect much to come out from it; I just wanted her to know that I was there if she needed me.

What shocked me the most is that she was actually there.

At the end of the day, after athletics, she came and met me at our spot, the little stairwell in the back of the school that everyone knew about but no one used. The time that this officially became "our spot" was when a few jerky girls in her grade were trying to find her and make her choke out who she had a crush on so that they could humiliate her and have leverage on her for the rest of her high school years. Elsa had run into me in the hallway with a look on her face that just said "help me get away."

Both of us had already known about the stairwell, but that was the first time we went there together. I sat on the upper stars, she on the lower, and we talked for at least a half hour about just pointless rambling, anything to get our minds off of what could have happened.

But she was really there. After school on March third, she was there in the stairwell. She was in her normal school clothes, jeans and some sort of blue or purple top.

Aside from the little waves and smiles I'd given her in the hallway, I hadn't really seen her up close since her parents passed. Now that I look at it, the bags under her eyes were way too big for a healthy junior. Her clothes sort of hung off of her shoulders, suggesting a gaunt figure. She'd lost weight. Why? Her hair was messy and looked roughly tied back, barely of her attention. What happened to the Elsa that I knew?

I opened my arms for a hug, but as expected, she didn't take a step from where she stood. I dropped my arms in defeat.

Tension hung thick in the air, and awkward silence seeped in through the chinks of the windows, a rather accosting feeling compared to our typical relaxed, casual, and sibling-like relationship.

"Hey, Elsie," I said softly, hoping that her childhood nickname would bring her to at least crack a smile.

No such luck.

"What do you want, Jack?" she said, her voice hoarse and unrefined, as if she hadn't spoken for months. Her eyes widened upon speaking as well, as if she was shocked by her own voice. As if she hadn't used it for forever. Probably the case.

"Elsa," I near whispered. Seeing her like this was breaking me. "You don't have to do this to yourself."

She cut me off before I could continue. "And what else could I do, Jack?" she hissed, voice sharp as ice. "What else would I do, have fun all day? Well that's your center, not mine. I'm ice cold, remember? And–"

"Hold up," I snapped, trying to get my point across. "I'm just saying, you don't have to isolate yourself like this. You don't have to stay inside, because Anna is here for you. I'm here for you. And I always will be, Elsie. Like all of the emails we sent a few years ago, when you thought I wasn't there. I'm always here, Elsa. You have to understand that we really do love you."

Something about this statement seriously set her off, because next thing I knew, she's walking towards the exit of the stairwell.

Fortunately, I was faster. I grabbed her wrist from behind and spun her around to face me. She couldn't expect to just ditch her brother and expect me to be okay with it.

"Elsa, please listen–"

Again, she cut me off. "And what, Jack? And what?" Her stare was cold enough to give someone frostbite, right there and then. "Jack, what would I do? How do you know that you'll always be there?" She choked up on that sentence. "My parents said that too. But you know what? They're not here anymore!"

I sighed. She wasn't thinking straight. "Elsa, you have to live life and treasure it to the fullest while you still have it!"

Elsa looked at the floor, then looked at me with an incredulous look. "Yeah, Jack, and live your life and go get attached to people and get your heart ripped into half. If that's what you call living life, Jack, having fun like you always do, then I want no part in it at all."

And with that she stormed off.

Somehow, she knew me too well. She knew this weakness that was inside me, and she knew what would make me shut up. Unfortunately.

Her low blow had rendered me speechless as I stood there in the stairwell, watching her blond-white hair flit out the door and heard it click shut.

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**Hope you liked it! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but you'll find out what the "low blow" was in the next chapter.**

**Also, typically my chapters should come along 1 per week (hehe lol) and this chapter was sorta long already, which is why I didn't want to cram it all in.**

**Thanks for reading! R&R, tell me what you think! Any suggestions go in the doobilydoo below too :)**

**~PianoPanda**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Thank you so so so much for viewing and reading! I typically haven't posted this frequently, but the reviews and favorites and follows are so encouraging. Thank you all so much! Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a few OC's (very minimal.) Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3: Elsa's POV**

Leaving Jack back there gave me a sour feeling in my gut, a lump of guilt rising up in my throat. That was seriously a low blow on my part. God, he was probably going to get sad again, and it's my fault. Again.

You see, this is why I don't trust myself with other people, especially those so dear to me. I only hurt them, and the way I looked at him… it probably stung more than throwing a javelin at him. As one who hated it when my best friends turned on me, I could only imagine how awful I was to Jack.

But he said he loved me. We used to say that to each other.

That struck me harder than anything else. Because being me, and giving up being around those you love to keep them from getting hurt is bad enough, let alone having the other person blatantly tell you that he loves you too.

Of course it's in that brotherly sense, but still. I only isolate them from me so that I can't hurt them, but I don't need them to try and get me to come back. That only guilts me further. And the more I spiral into these thoughts, the more isolated I become.

And plus, Mellie and Mike will be upset with me. They don't really like it when Anna or I get home late, and the least I could do, since they took us in when we were orphans and take care of us as if we are their own is not give them a heart attack about my whereabouts.

But not only did Jack guilt me, which isn't that bad, but I hurt him. I spat my words at him, ice cold daggers sinking into the tenderest parts of his heart, things that he hadn't ever exposed to anyone else. I had taken the most vulnerable of his normal, happy-go-lucky composure and targeted that fear. What a friend I am.

* * *

It was a few years ago. I was in eighth grade and he was a freshman. Because Wintervale's two campuses for middle school and high school are connected, the two student bodies see each other a lot. Occasionally, when my study halls and Jack's free periods lined up, we'd go out to the courtyard and just sit down to chat or catch up with each other.

Other times, if they were free too, the two of us, Rapunzel, Merida, Flynn, Astrid, and Hiccup would go to the middle school play ground and play like little kids, cracking jokes every other monkeybar or running around playing boys versus girls (in which the boys always beat the girls. Merciless, they were.) And even though Jack, Astrid, Hiccup, and Flynn were one year above the rest of us, we still acted like who we are, a group of strange misfits who are best friends. Yeah, so Jack and Flynn are popular and Rapunzel is the most popular girl in the grade, but we're all genuine people and really are, in more ways than one, a family.

I smile at the memory, because it hasn't been quite the same since then.

At some point in time, Rapunzel (we called her Rap) liked Jack and Jack liked her, but never at the same time. They also never had the guts to own up to it.

I couldn't count how many emails I got from Jack about Rap, even if I was paid a million dollars to do it. He used to go on and on and send me screenshots of the texts that lead him on.

Let me also explain: when Jack is in love, he's like a little lovesick puppy. And when he gets dumped… he's like an emo lovesick puppy. Great, right?

And yes, for the sake of being totally cliche, I was that "best friend who's always there for him." It's actually not that bad, as long as you don't like the guy. And the million dollar question: did I like him?

This doesn't really get much more cliche, but yes, I did. Not anymore, but I did at that time. And of course, long story short, Rap dumped him.

Now for a bit of detail: Rap dumped him because she was having a funky mood swing but also because she didn't want the full on relationship. She wasn't really as committed as he was; Jack was dead DEAD serious about it. He wasn't like one of those corny kids who just said I love you for the "significant other status." He said it because he really meant it.

Anyways, at one point in the "relationship," Rap started teasing me about something; I can't even remember what it was. Merida told me it was pretty nasty, but don't get me wrong. Rap, Merida, and I are like a set of triplets. Back to the point, Rap was being nasty to me. And so Jack, being the absolutely sweet older brother, told her to lay off. And she got jealous, said a few nasty things to him, and from there on, the relationship plunged downwards. They broke up a few days later.

Okay, again, I must elaborate. This was only the first time they broke up. Oh yeah. Jack never really really got over it; maybe a year after they broke up, he realized he still liked her. He told me first, of course (and no, by this time I didn't have a crush on him anymore), and being the awesome best friend I am, had to say well go for it. I did stress on the KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING INTO and DON'T GET HURT AGAIN thing, and well… this time, it was more about the fact that she was just… not right for him.

Jack was so so in love. I'd literally get 10 emails a day telling me about how much he missed her (response: dude, you saw her today at school, chill) or how she might be ignoring him (bro, it's been five minutes. She probably went to do… well I don't know… homework?) or that she was just so nice and sweet at school and they were so in love (and what exactly happened to the "she's-ignoring-me"?)

Well, I was not only the comforting friend, but I was the voice of reason and common sense while Jack was off in Lala-Land in love.

Anyway, Rap broke up with him for yet a second time because she said he was too controlling and texted her too often. Not only that, but she then cheated with some kid in Anna's grade named Hans.

I can't badmouth Rap; she's changed since then, grown up a little, appreciated things more. Rap just went through some funky moments. But don't we all? The impact the two breakups had on Rap wasn't really big, saying she didn't care much to start.

But for Jack, it was like some huge meteor had come down and busted a part of him into the sky.

He still put up a facade all the time, but I was the only one who knew his broken, true self. It was truly awful, to see him slowly break down. I mean, of course, he got back up onto his feet eventually, but that whole drama really broke him permanently, in a sense. And not only that, he'd given away his first kiss. And even now, he hates to think back on it. One time, I lightly brought it up in an email and he replied telling me not to mention it again. Ever again.

* * *

I knew that there was one thing that I had to do. I had to apologize. But no, that would only bring on more pain. Jack would become attached again (and so would I, of course,) and I would have talked to someone willingly again. No. I just couldn't.

But somehow, the guilt in ditching my best friend and spitting words of his dark past at him was worse than getting myself hurt again. There are worse things in the world than seeing people again, I thought.

Without thinking anymore of the consequences and just following my gut, for the first time in forever, I ran the block back to Wintervale as fast as I could, seeing I'd only walked a bit. I knew where he'd be. Definitely just on the swing, staff in hand.

I should probably explain that he'd had this thing with staffs since he was young. He'd pick up long sticks (a lot of times taller than himself) and carry them with him for days. Of course, they didn't allow him to have it in school. But otherwise, he always had his staff, one with a curved top, like a crudely made shepherd's staff.

Sure enough, as I ran toward the school, I saw someone on the playground, alone, swinging nonchalantly tossing a staff from one hand to the other. I daresay I smiled a bit, to see him like this, the real him, just there again.

**Jack's POV**

Why would she do this to me? She knew how much pain I went through. Elsa was the only one I'd told, and she came around and targeted me.

I sat there on the swing, shoes off, of course (our playground was the kind with pebbles, not woodchips) just reminiscing over times of the past; the time Elsa and I went to a college summer program with the crew, and I forgot my key so Elsa came back with me to get it, or the time Hiccup chucked a cup of water into Merida's hair and they went around chasing each other and yelling threats, thus beginning the boys versus girls war, and the time Flynn decided to be genius, tried to dance, and twisted his ankle.

I laughed in spite of myself, just seeing how much joy we had before.

_Why couldn't it be like this now?_ I thought to myself._ Elsa, what changed?_

Or at least, I_ thought_ I'd thought to myself. Turns out, I said it out loud. Oops.

All of a sudden, I heard a voice come from behind me.

"I'm sorry, Jack," the familiar voice said. "I changed. It's my fault. Blame me."

I practically jumped out of my skin as I sprinted a few steps forward, utterly startled.

"Elsa! Oh in the name of the man on the moon could you not do that?" I nearly shouted, still recovering from my little heart attack.

She giggled.

I blinked twice. She giggled. Oh my God. She giggled.

She seemed shocked by it too, as her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand.

It was my turn to laugh. "But you just– Elsa you– Elsa!" I exclaimed excitedly.

Despite all of her obvious efforts, she couldn't help but keep smiling. Also probably because my voice cracked when I said her name. Curse you, voice change.

She cleared her throat and spoke, a rather straight face replacing her typical, or formerly typical, smirk. "Yes, Jack. I did. All I did was come her to apologize. I'm sorry I said those things to you back there. You know I didn't mean it."

I looked down at the floor, taking in her apology. Before I had a chance to respond, she went on.

"And I can't blame you for not wanting to forgive me. But just please know that–"

God, this girl was insane. "Elsa," I said, deliberately cutting her off in her soon-to-be long spiel of apologies. "Shut up. Just shut up. Look, it's okay. Of course I forgive you. You're my best friend, how could I not?"

She smiled sadly at a point focused behind my head and said: "You mean I was your best friend, Jack. Not anymore. I don't deserve that status."

My smile was replaced by a frown. "What do you mean, not anymore? Elsie, we've always been best friends. PIC's, remember? Partners in crime?" I made a gun with my two fingers and blew on the tip to emphasize my point. "It can be like this from now on, you don't have to stay cooped up. You can be you, and I can be me, and we can pick up the email chains and you can come meet up with me and the gang every weekend. We were so close. It could be like this again, Elsa"

All the while, I had been watching her face, and it had gotten progressively emotionless, back to what she looked like after her parents died.

She opened her mouth to speak, and I could barely hear her whisper above the small breeze that blew past us.

"But it can't," she said simply.

"What," I said, slightly exasperated. "Are you just going to leave me hanging? Why not?"

"Because it just can't!" she snapped, clearly not wanting to explain any farther.

I obliged, not pressing her any more, sighing in defeat.

And of course, without another word, she just left.

No, I wouldn't let her. I needed answers, and I needed her back. Despite the fact that she said a few nasty things, it was in her that I had sought comfort, and then I remembered that she wouldn't speak to me. I missed my best friend.

I caught her wrist, not letting her go. "No Elsa," I said firmly. "You can't leave me again. Not without a reason."

She turned toward me, with pain in her eyes. "Stop, Jack. Enough."

"No Elsie, I'm not stopping until I have an answer. What did I do to you? Do you suddenly not like me anymore, am I not your brother anymore? What is it?" I demanded.

"I said enough!" she yelled, stomping her foot.

"ELSA STOP!" I yelled back, feeling a surge of anger course through my veins. "Look, I'm not leaving without an answer! I can't do with this anymore!"

Elsa glared at me, fighting back the tears that threatened to roll down. "Then leave," she hissed, voice cold as ice.

I clenched my jaw in frustration. Why did she have to do this to herself? "No Elsa. I'm not leaving without you."

Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but before she spoke, a single tear rolled down her cheek as several began to follow. And with that, she ran.

I was in no mood to catch up with her. I simply sighed again. What was with her? Why couldn't we go back to the way we were before? Couldn't she see that I missed her?

I hung my head dejectedly with my hood on, grabbed my things, staff in hand, and trudged my way home through an invisible, snow-like frustration invading my mind.

* * *

**T_T I'm sorry it's so angsty. Things will turn up in time! Thanks for reading! R&R if you have any questions/suggestions about anything! Let me know if it's OOC at all or anything is wrong with it. Also, if you noticed some of the references I've used in past chapters and this one, kudos to you! Thanks!**

**~PianoPanda12**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for sticking with this story! So updates from now on should come every 4-5 days, on average. :) NOTE: This is a Jelsa fic. :) Disclaimer: yada yada don't own yada yada. Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 4: Elsa's POV

Stupid. Idiotic. Imbecile. Dimwit. Perfect words to describe myself. The one time I thought I could be free and follow my gut instincts, I hurt myself and someone else. Seriously, I just can't do anything right, can I?

I knew I had to stay inside. No, not in the agoraphobic sense. But I was going to have to be careful now. I needed to learn to be like Jack and keep up a facade so that no one got concerned about me, Jack especially. That way, he could think that I was back to normal. Somewhat, at least. Otherwise, I would open a whole nother can of worms.

I would go back to attending my arts board meetings (Jack had taken over during my spot as VP and leader of Arts Board during my "recovery," him being president of the student body and all,) and I would go back to being externally normal. Only difference: I'd never really be the same person again. But I'd try to be.

Conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show, don't let them know. These words came into play for real now. There would be no more heart to hearts. No more PIC's. But at the same time, no more hurting anyone.

Everyone; Merida, Astrid, Rap, Jack, Hiccup, Flynn, Anna, even Mellie and Mike; they'd all be free of me. They wouldn't have to try and console me anymore, or hurt for me anymore, or sympathize with me anymore. No one would have to feel my pain, and I wouldn't be the cause anyone's pain any longer.

Idiot. Dimwit. Imbecile. If only I'd applied this principle before. Then Jack wouldn't have been hurt, and he wouldn't be thinking of me right now. I know he is; just the way his personality is built, he would be dwelling over what happened today for a while. And of course, I wouldn't be on email tonight to help him out.

But I have to remember. Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show. Don't let him know, most importantly.

* * *

The next student council meeting was a struggle for me; I had to keep my sense of flair and leadership, but at the same time, I had to maintain my not talking to Jack. I also had to stay cool; make sure no personal connection was made. Only ever the appearing kindness; a kind smile here and there, a comment of encouragement. But nothing to symbolize who I used to be; passionate, whole-hearted, enthusiastic.

But to no surprise, when I participated in the clubs meeting, of course Jack was absolutely shocked of my outspokenness, or at least outspoken compared to my normal behavior for the past two months. I wondered if I was hurting him at all. But of course that was the least of my worries; I had to make sure that I kept my guard up. Something was off about him, though.

As time progressed and I kept my facade up, Jack began to act a little differently. Around me especially, but also around Rap, Merida, even Flynn and Hiccup.

I overheard them talking one time in the halls. Apparently, "he'd changed." And the tone of their voices told me that it had been for the worse.

But, nonetheless, the next few weeks passed by rather smoothly; Anna had been on a foreign exchange trip for a few months now, and wasn't supposed to come back until the end of this term, so that was one less thing to worry about. Mellie and Mike seemed pleased with my ability to talk smoothly and composed, thinking I was "back to normal." Merida and Rap knew I was being superficial, but from what I could tell, they were willing to have this version of me rather than the withdrawn introvert I had been for the first few months after my parents' passing.

Hiccup and Flynn treated me normally, and Astrid was still that mother and sister-like figure to me. It seemed just fine.

Everything was back to normal; even the arts board members learned to accept me as the new me, and Flynn, who was the VP of the Athletics Board, had gotten used to using his voice more often than mine and accepting my cooler nature and more withdrawn arguments and ideas. And it wasn't like I wasn't contributing; albeit a reserved composure, I was still stating my ideas, just in a less enthusiastic mood than before.

Everything should have been great. I was hurting no one, no one felt attached, no one felt obligated to pity that girl whose parents died. No one had to worry about me, I was in my position of leadership, and pretending not to care what others thought about me began to get easier as time progressed, or at least I thought it did. But otherwise, things seemed, well, only a little less than perfect.

All except for one. Jack Frost. Saying it was hard pretending I didn't care was a huge understatement. I knew that I was hurting him, but it was better off this way that the other, if he were to become attached again. That would lead to this pain tenfold, I thought.

Since our last confrontation, I had tried in vain to avoid any possible contact with Jack. I knew it would only evoke more pain for the both of us. But somehow, like all plans, this one had a flaw.

First, there was student council. He was the president that everyone adored, and I was that girl who wrote the cool speech and won, and people don't actually like her. But the council meetings were inevitable, and I swear I could feel Jack's eyes on me the whole time. But I'd look somewhere else, strike a conversation with Tiana, an underclassmen who was trying to petition for a design and dine club, or pretend I got a text message. Anything to not return his pressing, guilting gaze.

The thing I love about Jack (shoot, I'm not supposed to be emotionally attached) is that he knows when to get involved and when not too. Granted, he wasn't all to happy about the present situation, but he knew that talking to me or confronting me wasn't going to do anything about it. But I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would talk to me again.

Which is why, despite my change in behavior, I practically sprinted to and from school so that he wouldn't catch up (he was still somewhat of my neighbor; something like two doors down.) I avoided all possible contact during free periods too, whether it meant meeting with a teacher or chatting in the bathroom with Merida and Rap. And since I was a junior and he a senior, we didn't have any classes together, seeing as we were both in the most advanced classes in each grade. And during designated club times, I was usually just wanderig about, and Jack would be directing tech club, freaking genius.

But, there was always the issue of the council meetings. Again. And I knew that there was no way that he was going to give up. His ice blue eyes would get this shining glint of determination, and I would steal glances at him to make sure he wasn't looking. But one time, he caught me. And I swear there was the slightest hint of a smirk that was threatening to spill over into a grin. Shoot. He knew I was still alive.

* * *

Jack's POV

What. The freak. Why. Elsa was being... Different. I'd never seen her like this before. She was... Acting! Everything she was doing was just her putting up an act! Why? Probably to be annoying. I don't know. What did I ever do to her, though? I honestly can't understand why she's so reluctant to be herself again.

I love her like a sister, but I don't love this new her. She's too stiff. Too fake. Too superficial. She was always quirky, a little weird, but bright spirited, energetic, mostly ruled by emotion. This new her is simply cold and emotionless. She laughs and smiles, but her eyes have gone flat. One thing I always loved about Elsa was her eyes. Though a cold, grayish hue of ice blue, like mine, they seemed to have an endless depth to them, flecked with silver and neverending. If you looked into them, you could see all of these emotions swirling around simultaneously; inner turmoil, joy, giddyness, unconfidence, passion.

But now, when I see her, it's like there's none of that left. It's like shes built an unbreakable shield of ice right underneath her skin that no one can penatrate. No one can see through her, and those who catch a glance of her eyes can only hold their glimpse for a mere second before she notices and turns away.

That's another thing about Elsa that's always boggled me. She's always had this ability to sense another's eyes on ber because of her eternal unconfidence. I even told her that she had good looks, a great personality, and a good heart one time in an email, but even so she's never believed it for real. She's only ever been self-conscious about her looks, and I don't think she realizes how many guys oggle over her. They're just jerks who don't have the guts to talk to her, let alone ask her out.

And what sucks is that the winter is my on season; ice hockey has almost reached nationals and I've been at practice constantly early in the mornings and at the rink after school since the tournament isnext week. Tech club is taking up a bunch of my frees since app submission deadline is in april, and Council has a lot to discuss. Having Elsa being one of the main worries on my mind isn't really all that helpful.

Though one thing that other seniors have to worry about that I don't is college. I only applied to Wintervale Community College, since my mom is having trouble supporting the family, and Mara still has some years left of private school. Plus, I like Wintervale. It's a nice little town to be, and frick, I grew up here! I'm not quite ready to leave yet.

Mara has been a sweet little sister, but since she became a freshman, she got a little more distant; more studies, more social pressure. So in a sense, I've been pretty deprived of having a sisterly figure for the past few months. I haven't gotten to talk to Elsa lately, and I still send her emails. They just never get responses.

Truth be told, I really miss her. I miss the sister that she used to be, I miss cracking up at the idea of her flushing in her blankets at a suggestive joke that I make at 12:30 AM on email, I miss hanging out with the crew on the MS playground, I miss her spunk and passion. I miss everything about her.

But whatever she's trying to do to make herself change doesn't seem to be working, because the other day, when Tiana talked about her petition for the design and dine club, I could've sworn I saw Elsa's old one-sided smirk come back, and I managed to catch her eyes quickly. Sure, she looked away straight after and resumed her polite smiling and nodding, but I knew that the real Elsa was still in there.

It was as if a small silver snowflake had flopped down from above. I did an internal fist-pump, because I knew that there was a hope to fix her.

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**Thanks so much for reading guys! Sorry if you thought this chapter was a bit uneventful, it's sorta one of those "fillers" but not really because you need to understand their everyday lives to fully understand future drama. No worries, some drama will come along in the next few chapters. :) Thanks for reading and R&R if you have any questions/comments/criticism. **

**~PianoPanda12**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okay so I felt pretty inspired to write up this chapter and I may not have too much time to write another for some time, so entertain yourselves with this! Here you go, it's a long one. Disclaimer: I own nothing. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5: Elsa's POV**

My heart filled with remorse and guilt. Jack had seen my eyes. He knew exactly what I was doing.

We always sort of had this sense of telepathy where we could read each other's emotions based on each other's eyes. His light blue eyes could glint with determination, happiness, and panic and be shaded with guilt, anger, and sorrow.

He knew mine just as well as I knew his, if not better.

It was March 15. Just thirteen days after I'd started up this mask. And I screwed it up. Stupid! Why didn't I just look away? Why did I feel the need to have to go and keep tabs on him, just to make sure he was okay? Granted, I still cared, but I knew that it was only going to get me into more trouble and just hurt everyone again!

I dropped the topic of Jack, knowing that contemplating wouldn't get me far. I walked through the halls, a nonchalant look in my eyes, feet moving forward robotically while my mind was lost in thought.

Big mistake.

As I exited the normal side entrance that I used to use with Jack to walk with him to the rink (which was on the way home,) I could've sworn I heard footsteps. But I kept moving. What was this, a movie? No way I could be attacked. Besides, Wintervale was completely safe. It was a cute little town; nothing exciting really happened.

I should explain something first; there were these girls, the "it-girls" of the junior class, if you will. Of course, they were nothing but dimwitted idiots, but they had the majority of people wrapped around their finger because their mother, Lady Tremaine, was, well, a Lady from some distant country that I can't remember.

Anyways, these two girls, called Stacy and Gigi which is short for Anastasia and Giselle, never quite liked me. We were never on bad terms, but we weren't best friends. I'm thankful that they at least had the decency to back off after my parents passed. But since my facade, I had noticed a reoccurring of nasty glares in the hallways or a surge of whispering from their side of the hall when I walked past. Only now did I realize that they really were back onto me.

I was only a few steps from the door when I felt a hand on each of my arms. On instinct, I shook them off and turned around, evening my stance in a defensive manner. I forgot to mention; Jack had taken karate lessons when he was younger. He used to teach me everything he learned after every lesson when we were little. I'm not exactly a beginner in self defense.

I looked and saw none other than two tall boys (who I knew were in my grade.) They were the boyfriends of Gigi and Stacy, and frankly, I didn't care enough to know their names. Apparently, according to Rap, they were about ten months apart so are the same age. They also had a younger brother in Anna's grade, Hansel, or something. Maybe it was Hans…?

They lunged at me before I got the chance to move again. One of them got me in a headlock while the other one held my arms still.

Luckily, these jerks went for the underestimation approach. I could feel that their grip wasn't that strong.

I followed the wise words of Ms. Congeniality and sang, ripping my left arm from my attackers grasp, and in doing so, punching him square in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. Using my left elbow, I jabbed backwards into my other captor's solar plexus. He released me as predicted, buckling from my hard blow. I then stepped in with my right foot, the heel of my boot coming down onto his shoe. Turning around, deciding to be slightly merciful, I skipped breaking his nose and simply kicked him in a boy's most vulnerable position.

Unfortunately, my all too successful assault had one flaw. I had a blindside. Goonie number two grabbed me from behind. To my disadvantage, he was much taller than me, and lifted me off of the floor, rendering me helpless despite all of my thrashing and kicking and struggling.

At last, the culprit was revealed. Or culprits, I should say. From around the corner came none other than Gigi and Stacy, and despite having made the first two and a half years of high school a living hell for me, spreading rumors about me being some creepy sorceress, making everyone turn against me, they just wouldn't give up.

I was blessed to have so many friends; with the crew, nothing really mattered. Whatever reputation we got didn't mattered, because we knew each other better than the jerks who judged us. We were, as I say, a group of misfits, even more so now that I had been alienated. They were my only protection, and having two of the coolest senior guys on your side wasn't exactly considered a disadvantage, especially if one was the star of the football team and head of athletics board and the other was the president of the student body.

Stacy and Gigi approached me menacingly. I knew that this wasn't going to turn out too well. And at this point, Jack was probably well on his way to the rink. Flynn was most likely in the gym, doing winter conditioning. Rap was in dance class, I knew, and Merida was at archery practice. Astrid and Hiccup were in the gym too; running club. Well, let me rephrase. Astrid was running. Hiccup was having a study hall because of his leg and the prosthetic, but he preferred to be near Astrid anyways. Well shoot. No one to help me now.

"Well well well," crooned Ana. "Look at who we've got here."

I growled at her, allowing ice cold venom to seep into my glare.

Gigi flinched, in spite of herself. "Well, Elsa, you won't want to give us that look after we're done here."

My eyes widened. What were they getting at?

"Look," Gigi continued. "We know your little secret."

_Secret?_ I wondered to myself. That wasn't possible; everyone knew that I had really nothing to hide, vulnerable as I was.

Stacy took it from there. "We know that you like a certain someone. Only he's too good for you. Too handsome, too smart, to cool. Too good for a good-for-nothing girl like you. And all you can do is just stand there and try to throw yourself on him, only he has his eyes on someone else, pity. I'd love to see your heart get snapped in half."

Gigi giggled in an obnoxiously evil way.

In retrospect, looking back on it, I can see why they thought what they did. But in the moment, I had not the slightest idea.

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious about what people thought about me. "Everyone knows that I don't like anyone; that's been clear for almost forever."

Stacy sneered. "Oh drop, the cover, Elsa. We all know it's true."

My face contorted into a confused mask as I allowed my brain to think. The one and only logical explanation I was able to conjure up was the only one that couldn't be true. If that was truly what they were thinking of (which, might I add, was still a lie,) then may the Lord have mercy because I would be sure to be sentenced to eternal doom if word got around about this.

Still, I shook my head, wanting to hear their conclusion without potentially digging myself into a deeper trench.

Gigi came threateningly close, breaking the bubble of personal space that I had kept for the past few months. Into my ear, she whispered, an echoing, taunting hiss: "Jack Frost."

I froze in place, a discomforting ice permeating my veins. No. This couldn't be. The only reasonable explanation I'd come up with, a potential nightmare, was true to them.

I saw no point in denying it, but at the same time I couldn't simply let them win.

Unfortunately, my second of hesitation was enough to make them think themselves right.

"Ha, I knew it!" Gigi yelled, whipping out her phone. "This is going to make such good conversation!"

In her giddiness, I guess both she and her sister didn't hear the door open slowly behind them. In my dazed state of mind, I didn't notice until the glare of the glass hit my range of vision. However, due to us being at least twenty five yards from the doorway plus Stacy and Gigi blocking my vision, I couldn't quite see who had come in. Apparently, whoever it had been had headed in the opposite direction, down one of the side hallways, because after a short moment, the feeling of another's presence was gone.

Stacy reached her hand into my jean pocket, taking out my phone. Curse my laziness, I hadn't set a password onto it. "Oh, Elsa, I just can't wait until he breaks your heart!"

I decided to deny it. It was worth a shot, trying to put the truth out there. "Guys, this isn't true, you know," I began, my voice firm yet vulnerable.

Gigi cut me off. "Oh come on, Elsa, don't even try to deny it."

"Yeah," Stacy continued, a malicious smirk gracing her lips. "We all know it's true. And whatever squirmish little thing you do to try and deny it won't work. Oh this is just so exciting! Just wait till the news spreads! Elsa's forever-love, only to find that he has loved someone else for the past few years."

This was new to me. Years? Sure, he had gone out with Rap a few times, but he told me he'd stayed crushless…

"Years?" I asked, beckoning them to continue. "What do you mean by years?"

Gigi rolled her eyes. She'd done that so many times by now that I could've sworn her eyes were going to pop out of her head. "Like you haven't heard." I shook my head.

She rolled her eyes yet again. "Rumor has it that he's been sweet on someone since he was a sophomore, but he hasn't told her yet. She, apparently, is also really pretty."

Stacy batted her eyelashes. "It's either me or Gigi. And either way, we get the prize."

I groaned in disgust. These girls were actually going to make me gag.

"Hey!" I said, in an effort to protect my brother-like figure. "He is not a prop to be won. He was a genuine person; kind, protective, caring. And plus, as if he'd ever fall for you two."

They growled at me, the layers and layers of makeup clearly visible in their artificially tanned skin.

"Yeah, fat chance for you, too," Gigi retorted. "Your face makes any guy want to run on any given day. And plus, as if he, the, like, king of handsome, would ever fall for you? Your skin is albino white, your eyes are the ugliest shade of blue ever, and your hair is just a white hot mess! Seriously, do you bleach it or something? Desperate, much?"

Stacy cackled at her sister's remarks. "Yeah, and then your songs and whatever trash art, what's that all about? I mean seriously, does a person get more creepy?"

I was suddenly extremely self-conscious about my current state. Physical appearance, ironically enough, was one of my worst weaknesses. And they called me desperate! They didn't even know the first thing about me. But that wasn't exactly my main concern.

How could I uphold my name if I was so publicly known like this? And suddenly, the rumors and the gossip started to matter more. How could Anna possibly bear her high school if I had set the bar at such a place? She would be miserable, more so than me. How could I do this to her?

"It-It's not true!" I managed to choke out without exploding in anger. _Don't let them in. Conceal it. Don't feel it. Don't let it show._ "I don't like him that way. All of these things are lies." I tried to keep my voice even and calm. I breathed in deep breaths, trying to make my anger and indignation subside, but to no avail. The lump in my throat only rose more as tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. How dare they call my art trashy! How dare they mock my music!

Stacy and Gigi only laughed harder, and I thrashed in my captor's arms to try and give them a piece of mind. He only squeezed my neck harder and tightened his grip on the headlock.

"Save your energy, Arendelle," Stacy hissed in between cackles. "It's only fair that after you so daringly confess your love that we spread the word and allow him to break your heart. You have to know, Elsa. The truth of the matter."

Good grief what was it now? In spite of myself, my curiosity got the better of me. "The truth of what? Aside from that, what are you saying?"

Gigi, once again, rolled her eyes. "Well you stupid, since you asked, I'll tell you. He's only close to you because you're really close to the person he likes."

My eyes widened. It couldn't be true… could it? He told me himself that he didn't like Rap anymore! He said that all of the feelings were… gone.

_Conceal it. Don't feel it. Don't let it show._ I couldn't show what I felt. That would only leave me to be more vulnerable than I already was. No._ Don't show it. Don't show it._ Anger and pain threatened to spill through each and every pore of my skin. _Don't show it. Don't show it._ Confusion and despair crept around every edge of my body. _Don't let it show. Don't let them know._

One tear down my face. That's all it took. One single tear.

The two cackled harder than I'd ever seen. I struggled in my headlock, trying to use my arms to cover up the rest of the tears that were on the verge of spilling over, and rather unsuccessfully seeing that the second captor had pinned my arms to my sides.

"Oh look at that, she's crying!" Stacy cried in glee.

"Instagram! Elsa look up!" Gigi giggled, thumbs tapping away rapidly as I heard the camera click sound. "Caption: Elsa's one true love is gonna break her heart! Hashtag heartbreak!"

I tried in vain to hold back the rage that was about to leap out of me. Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show. Calming myself, I simply put my head down and sighed in defeat. There was no way that I was going to win; I was fighting a losing battle.

The two only snickered at my sign of weakness.

"Can't wait till Jack breaks your heart, Elsa," Stacy taunted. Both of their eyes were glued to their phones that were rapidly buzzing with all of the incoming texts, likes, and comments. An asteroid could've fallen and they wouldn't have noticed.

Suddenly, a new voice chimed in from behind me. A voice I knew all too well.

"I'm sorry," it said, a sharp edge clear and prominent in his words. "Who's heart am I going to break?"

In shock, my captor dropped me from his arms. I fell to the ground, weak from all of the energy exerted in struggling and trying not to choke while being in a headlock off the ground.

Stacy raised her eyebrows, a playful smirk replacing her smug expression. "Oh and look, Gigi, look who it is," she taunted.

"Look's like it's her knight in shining armor! Oh, he's come to save her! And later on, only to snap her poor fragile heart into pieces," Gigi added, on the verge of yet another hysterical fit of laughter.

I was in no mood to fight back. Silent, invisible tears streamed down my face as I kept my eyes down, knowing that any sight of weakness would only evoke more mockery.

"Cut it out, you two," snapped Jack, voice drenched in anger and intolerance. "If you had any sense, you'd stop right now before I report you for unnecessary bullying."

I was surprised at Jack's sudden seriousness; he was usually all about the fun, all about breaking the rules.

Stacy, the idiot she was, only laughed and said: "Oh but Jack, we're a little too pretty for that sort of punishment, don't you think? Don't you think you can… I don't know… punish us differently? Maybe tonight?" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I gagged in disgust. These girls were trying to throw themselves onto him, rather mercilessly, too.

I was glad that Jack and I thought alike. He sent them a hard stare and simply demanded: "Leave."

No one messed with Jack Frost. Even if they were the "it-girls" of the junior class, they weren't about to mess with the coolest guy in school, not to mention that that certain guy had the power to get them potentially suspended.

As they fled the premises, I only put my head down more, holding my knees to my chest, internally sobbing. Yet externally, I still managed to conceal my true feelings. I looked stone cold. No emotion, no hurt.

But Jack, like always, knew. He could see the pain and the permanent damage in my eyes.

He grabbed me by the arms and pulled me up. I stayed speechless and motionless, acting like a puppet under his gentle guidance. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and walked me across the school, all the way back to the stairwell. He whipped out his phone, made a quick call to, I assume, one of his hockey teammates, telling him that he couldn't make it because of family matters.

He sat me down on the steps and hugged me from the side, rubbing my arm gently.

This was too dangerous. I couldn't afford to hurt him again. _Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show._ I swallowed, still propped up with my elbows on my knees, head in my hands._ Conceal it._ I struggled, trying to keep the racking sobs from escaping. _Don't feel it._ I gripped my hair tightly; it was just done down, swept over one shoulder. I tugged at the roots, trying to contain my deluge of emotions. _Don't let it show._ I flexed my muscles all over my body, trying to keep the floodgates shut. _Don't let _him_ know._ And that was it.

It started quietly. But there was a wrenching pain in my gut. A horrible, awful surge of discomfort and a suffocation traveled through every muscle and every tendon.

Then came the sobbing. I sat there, tears streaming freely from my eyes, letting out all the angst, confusion, sorrow, detachment, seclusion, bullying, and struggles from the past three months.

My jaw clenched and unclenched. It was too late to turn back now.

Jack leaned me against his shoulder and I buried my head into the comforting fabric of his hoodie. I breathed in his scent that was all too familiar from hanging around him so often; spearmint and chocolate.

He stroked my arm comfortingly and whispered into my hair.

"Elsie, Elsa, shh, it's okay," he said, barely audible. "Look, sis, I love you, you know that. Come one Elsie, you know those girls aren't worth a second of your time."

I didn't stop. I couldn't. There was just too much inside of me. The sobs didn't stop, and they sent tremors throughout my body, making it seem like I was shivering. My breaths came in short, sharp intakes as the floodgates stayed open, tears pouring out of my eyes.

"Elsie, sis, I love you, come on. We all love you. You don't need to stupid girls to ruin you. Elsie, come on, listen. Sis, come on," he crooned gently into my ear. "I love you so much, Else, you're my sister, you know that. Come back, come on."

This only made me sob harder, adding onto the burden of emotion that I had carried with me for months. He loved me. They all loved me. They were attached. I was attached. This could only turn out badly.

But for the second time in forever, I chose to simply enjoy the moment and not question the consequences later. I eased my cries and simply rested in the comfort of Jack's arms. He kissed my forehead like he had only a few times before when I was really in need of brotherly support.

And there we sat, him comforting me, shielding me from anything that might happen. I was the little sister who just had to be so bad at controlling her emotions that she was eventually going to cause more pain to her brother, and the rest of her family, for that matter, by blood or not.

And there we sat, a boy and a girl both with white hair and blue eyes, the boy in a blue hoodie and brown pants and the girl in an ice blue shirt with dark jeans. So alike that we seemed like siblings, and that we were.

And there we sat as I contemplated the consequences of my actions in the furthest regions of my mind, yet trying to enjoy the first bit of true, whole-hearted affection that I had received for the longest time.

And there we sat in silence, feeling none other than comfortable with each other, as if nothing bad had ever happened. As if we were kids again, sipping hot chocolate after building a snowman. As if I had never changed, as if Jack didn't see me any differently.

And there we sat until Jack decided to break the comfortable silence.

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**I told you there was going to be drama! T_T I'm sorryyyyy the relationship needs to build before it becomes ElsaxJack, but I promise it will be here soon enough. Gigi and Stacy are from Cinderella (if you noticed the Tremaine) and take note that Goonie #1 and #2 are both Hans' brothers. This plays in a little later in the story...**

**Anywho, thanks for reading, hope you liked it, R&R comments, criticism, feedback, questions, confusions. :)**

**~PianoPanda12**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! So here's to finally updating in the span that I've promised (4-5 days.) Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that you recognize from the movies. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 6: Jack's POV**

I held her to my side. This was the Elsa that I had once known, the sister that wasn't afraid to show what she felt, at least not in front of me. In some, strange sadistic way, I was glad she was crying. She was finally letting it go. The act that she had been keeping up for the past few months was finally crumbling; the old her was back. Just maybe.

In retrospect, coach yelling at me, having to potentially do a few full rink sprints when I got to practice, and forgetting my skates in the first place turned out to be a good thing, all because I found Elsa. I had only been able to observe a tiny bit of it; I regretted not having stopped the first time I passed by, and since I had just seen the two Goons standing there, I assumed it was nothing from the norm, just those four weirdos hanging around after school. But upon realizing while coming around the other way that Elsa was there, I had to do something.

I was only glad that nothing worse had happened to her, seeing how hurt she was already. Elsa typically wasn't much of a crier, and definitely not in public. Whatever had gone down was probably really bad; she usually managed to keep her cool.

Elsa sobbed and she cried, and the only thing I could whisper to her were the words that we used to sleep on: "I love you." It was just an old habit we had. Often times, right before sleeping, Elsa would send me an email that looked something like this: "Alright bro, gnite, love u. ;)" And I would respond: "Luv u too, sis"

Our relationship had always been like that; what had happened?

I guess I had voiced some of these thoughts out loud, because my whispers came out something like an incoherent chains of "come back, I miss you, I love you, you're my sister. I love you. Come on, come back."

After a while, she quieted. I felt it only right to talk it out, like the old times.

"So, you okay?" I asked hesitantly, voice gentle as if my words could snap her right then and there.

She shook out her body and slowly shook her head. "No, not really," she croaked, voice dry and hoarse. "I just… I…" she trailed off.

I could hear the reluctance in her voice and there was a tinge of regret in her eyes. I took my arm from around her shoulder and propped myself up onto the staircase, staff in hand.

I raised my eyes and nodded my eyes, beckoning her to continue. "Do you wanna talk it out?" I asked, just like we used to.

Elsa sighed and opened her mouth to speak, though only a strangled groan escaped her lips. She shut her mouth again, shuddered, and spoke as if she hadn't heard me. "You holding up okay, Jack?"

Her question took me by surprise. I recoiled backwards as if her words had slapped me across my face. In some way, I was rather taken aback.

"Excuse me?" I asked her, trying to scrutinize her every change in expression.

Her jaw was set, clenched tightly, and her eyes were blocked off, cold and uninviting.

"Jack, how are you?" she asked again, voice edged with determination.

Oh God no, no way she was doing this. "Elsa–" I began.

She held up her hand and spoke. "No Jack. It's okay. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. Really," she said with a smile, despite the small crack in her voice.

I rolled my eyes and gave her a one sided, all-knowing smirk. "Yeah, right, Elsa. You're never okay after you break down. You need to tell me. Come on. Remember, like those sick nights I used to have when I missed Rap and whatever? You always told me to let it out and let it go. And the easiest way to do that is just to say it," I concluded, just as determined as her. Two could play this game.

Her eyes brimmed with tears again as she turned her face away from me. Something I had said had clearly set her off, but what?

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry," I said, allowing affection to seep in. I hated seeing her like this. "Hey, come on Elsa. You look like you need a hug."

I reiterated a line from our middle school years at the summer college program and couldn't help but smile at the memory, before anything had happened and we were still us. When I'd lost my room key, Elsa had taken the time to tell me a lot about her and what she'd gone through and why she was who she was. She ended up in tears and what could I do but offer her a hug, being the protective brother?

Apparently, that had stabbed her even harder than the first.

She turned around, eyes frozen over, her glare accosting me in a malicious way. She bit her lip as if she was trying to hold her anger in. I saw her fists clench and unclench, another sign that I was pushing her overboard.

"Jack, don't pretend like it's like old times. Because, if you hadn't noticed, it's not," she spat. Her jaw visibly tightened like she was trying to hold in further yelling.

"What, Elsa," I said, getting irritated. "Why isn't it like old times? What's wrong with it now? What's wrong with me?"

I was losing my patience with her. She was starting to get outrageously unreasonable.

She shut her eyes tightly, allowing a few tears to seep through. She turned away, though tension was visible on her face and suddenly I was fearful of how this could turn out.

She whipped her head around faced me square on and glared at me, her teal, icy blue eyes burning with anger.

With a deadly quiet voice, she hissed: "You lied to me, Jack."

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. What, exactly, had I done?

"Oh don't give me that face like you don't know what you've done," she practically yelled. I could see that there was no good way to get out of this. "Jack, I trusted you! I told you everything about me! Even things that I never told Anna I told you, and you hide your true self away and leave me vulnerable? This was one thing that we always swore to tell each other about! What happened to me? More like you! Who are you even, Jack Frost?"

Her biting tone was frightening, maybe more if her voice hadn't broken on the last word.

"Elsa," I said, voice careful as I breathed out slowly. "I'm your brother. I am someone who has never given up on you. I'm not planning on it, either. I know who you are, and I know you. So why have you changed, Elsa? What have I lied about, Elsa? I'm failing to think of it right now."

She moaned in frustration. "Jack you lied to me! You have always managed to trick me! Do you think that I'm really that out of it to not have heard that you've been, oh well I don't know, in love with someone for the past two years? Why didn't you tell me? Who do you even love, Jack?"

My blood ran cold. This was the one thing that Elsa couldn't know about me. It would damage her too much, and I didn't want to put this kind of burden on her.

"Elsa, look, it's not what it seems like–"

"Then what is it, Jack?" she yelled. "What is it? Because apparently our sister-brother relationship isn't exactly what I thought it was. Enlighten me, Jack. What is it? What is this?" she said, motioning to the space between us.

I took a deep breath and hung my head. I didn't exactly know how to explain this. "Look, Elsa, I can't tell you. I just can't. You have to understand; it's probably the last person you think it is, though. I'll give you that much. Maybe I'll tell you in time, but not now."

She could see the pleading tone in my eyes and reluctantly dropped it. But not without muttering something first.  
"Maybe Stacy and Gigi were right. Maybe you will break my heart."

Every muscle and bone in my body cried out in protest as I tried to explain to her that I would never intentionally try to hurt her, but in order to let her feel better, I needed to leave it be. In order to deny that statement, I would have to prove it, and I just wasn't ready to do that, so I pretended not to hear the last bit. But I couldn't just let that comment go unanswered.

"Hey, Elsie, you know that I don't give a whit about what those two brats say, and you shouldn't either," I said, voice soft and eyes comforting. "They don't know anything about you, and they don't know anything about the real me."

I put my hand on her shoulder and tugged, silently pleading her to turn towards me.

She just bit her lip and shook her head. "Then I guess I don't know you any better than they do," she said, tone nonchalant and conclusive while pain and regret practically dripped from her face.

Her words dug into me and clung to my skin, draining me of any hope or faith I had in her. My gut clenched in pain as I realized who Elsa had become. I knew that the old her was still inside her, but I also knew that it was going to take a lifetime to get her to come back to me.

I looked out the window and nearly jumped in shock. It looked like an unending downfall of white had begun. The blizzard had already caused a substantial amount of snow to stockpile on the ground, the grass no longer visible.

Elsa followed my line of vision and saw the same white snow, falling to the ground.

The intensity of the storm was almost as bad as the one inside of me, threatening to spill out and engulf me in confusion and anger.

I sighed, knowing that only some of the truth would make her come back. "Look, Elsa, you know I love you a lot, sis. And I really really miss you. Why can't we be like the way we were before? If you would just come back I could explain–"

My voice broke, unsure of what to say next.

Her eyes were on me, watching my every move.

I opened my mouth to speak, but didn't know what else I could tell her to convince her.

I set my mind on the one thing that would be reasonable, but before I could express my thoughts, Elsa finished the sentence for me.

"Everything," she said, eyes coated with disbelief.

"Yeah," I said, face slightly downcast. "Everything."

I heard her groan and saw her put her head in her hands. I leaned my head on the crook of my staff and sighed, not knowing how this could turn out.

Silence spread around the room like a thick, impenetrable fog as an awkward sense of nervous tension hung in the air, suffocating us both. This was a nervous tension that had never been around the two of us before; it had gone from the easiness of two siblings to the discomfort of mere strangers within a few months.

Finally, after a long span of silence, she spoke.

"Jack," she said, as if she was testing out the name on her tongue, voice crisp as wintry air. I looked her in the eye as she faced me, the mist in her eyes fading away as a look of pure sincerity and apology flashed within her bright blue orbs. I could've sworn I saw a hint of a smile dancing on her lips, as if she found comfort in simply searching my eyes, like seeing the other could simply answer all of the questions we hadn't even voiced.

Recomposing herself and looking away, allowing her white-blonde hair to block the profile view of her face from my vision, she cleared her throat and said with a voice more emotionless than I had ever heard it: "Just stay away from me."

She grabbed her backpack and went, just like that, out the stairwell doors and probably off to walk home.

No way on earth was she going alone in weather like this.

I grabbed all my things and sprinted out the door after her. Thank God I was a faster runner, because I caught up pretty quickly. I grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, stabilizing her as she tripped slightly from her momentum in her boots.

I could see that her eyes were still puffy, but were rimmed with fresh tears. She turned her face away, sniffling slightly. Typical of her, not wanting to show weakness.

"Elsa, let me drive you home," I said gently, smiling with my eyes.

She shook her head and coughed slightly, yanking her scarf out of her bag and putting it on.

"Jack, you don't understand. Just leave me alone, okay?" she said, voice gravelly and unstable, as if she was on the verge of hysterics.

"No Elsa," I said, voice set firm. "I'm not going to. You don't think I understand? All you do these days is shut people out, as if you'd understand more than me."

She laughed drily. "Yeah, Jack, because interacting with people under a facade of pure happiness is so effective," she countered. "Oh look at me, I'm Jack Frost, all happy-go-lucky all the time and I'm never hurt by a thing!"

She covered her mouth and her eyes widened having lost her stiff composure. Elsa coughed back sobs and shook where she stood.

I, having lost almost every shred of sympathy, simply scoffed at her hypocrisy. "As if you don't do that too! For the past three months all you've done is shut me out! All you've done is pretend like we weren't best friends and brother and sister, like none of that ever happened! I can't live like this anymore! What did I ever do to you? What are you so afraid of?"

"Enough, Jack!" she yelled, voice cutting through the air like a newly sharpened sword. "Just stay away from me. Don't ever talk to me again."

She turned on her heel and sprinted towards the door, alone out into the storming cold.

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Some time that night, maybe around 7:30 PM, I got a call on my home phone. My mom was with Mara at the rink for figure skating practice

As I looked at the receiver, I was shocked to see Elsa's home phone number flashing on my phone.

Not wanting to jump to any conclusions, I rapidly picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I asked, pretending I didn't know who it was.

Turns out, I really didn't.

"Hello, Jack, this is Mike," the other person said, voice scratchy from old age.

"Oh," I said, eyes widening in surprise. Mike had always been a good friend of my mom's and I knew him quite well. "Hi, Mike. And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Instead of the warm chuckle that I was expecting, the phone was silent.

"Elsa's gone."

I froze in place, shocked and disbelieving, wishing that this was a dream.

"What?" I managed, wanting to hear as much of the details as possible.

Mike sighed and said, "Elsa's missing. We were wondering if you know where she is."

My mind raced back and forth. There could be at least ten places she could be.

Then, it hit me. The one reasonable explanation.

"Don't worry, Mike," I said, trying to reassure myself and him that this was it. "I know exactly where she is."

Hanging up, I grabbed my coat and put on my shoes, scribbling down a quick note to my mom and racing out the door.

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**Yay! Thank you guys so so much for reading! And don't worry, this isn't the "she went to another town as the valiant hero chases after her" story. I promise, things should start to look up... just about now. Thanks for suffering through these first few chapters of fluffless stuff; thing's will build up starting now. :)**

**Any questions, concerns, comments, criticisms (but no flames please), please R&R and tell me what you think!**

**~PianoPanda12**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! I got a little impatient with my 4-5 day rule this time, so here's another chapter! Disclaimer: anything you may recognize does not belong to me. Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 7: Elsa's POV**

I ran and ran, as far as I knew as fast as I could.

Nearly tripping on the snow-covered roads, I trudged on forwards, trying in vain just to get somewhere where I knew I could be alone.

I needed to get away from everything, Jack in particular.

I was still overwhelmed with the emotions from what had just conspired in the stairwell.

I completely lost it! So much for not showing it; I practically gave myself away! There was no way he was going to get off my back about this, but I just hoped that my forceful words would make him back off for at least a few days.

I also felt unhealthily guilty about what I had said to him; I was probably the worst sister that had ever walked the face of the earth; to him, to Anna, to Rap and Merida, Astrid, everyone.

Everything I'd ever done to them had only hurt them. And if I hurt them again? Why was it that I had the ability to just destroy everything upon touch? Why was it that I could hurt everyone I came in contact with?

Mike and Mellie did such a great job of hiding it, but one time, I got thirsty in the middle of the night. This was maybe a month ago, just before Jack left the note in my locker.

I crept down the stairs, quietly, sure to skip the step that creaked. Seeing a light from the kitchen, I walked a little closer and peered in from behind the wall. I saw Mellie sitting on a chair, head in her hands, weeping silently as Mike stood behind her.

"There, there," he said, voice cracking, on the verge of tears. "It's alright Melissa, honey, she'll come back. Elsa will come back. Don't you worry now."

That was the first time I had the urging feeling to come back, but I didn't know how so that no one would get hurt again.

Yet there I walked, out in the cold, alone, having just stabbed my best friend with my harsh words. Nothing could repay such a bad thing.

Upon arriving at my house that was dusted over with snow, I stop and brushed the cold powder off of my scarf. Taking one step forward, I suddenly froze in place and remembered what I had seen. Mike and Mellie really did care.

And I knew I couldn't return home, at least not now.

I continued walking forwards, knowing exactly where to go.

It was a place filled with warm memories of before my parents had died, back when Anna and I were kids. Jack and Mara would come too. During the summer when we had free time or during the winter on snow days after building countless snowmen.

Then, as we grew a little bit older, the uses for it expanded too. Instead of it just being the four of us, the gang came also, and it became our Friday night hangout place.

Countless nights had been spent here whether it was playing truth or dare, just chatting, or having a fun night with each other. It had a small electric stove, a space heater, and an old piano, and though it was a little flat and the high E and D-flat key was completely busted, it could still do for an impromptu jam session with Merida and Rap. There was also an assortment of old folding chairs and a few large bean bags, plenty to accommodate for the seven of us.

The wooden planks for walls had been painted yellow some years ago, and by now it was all chipped and the wood was showing from underneath. There was still a dusty colored carpeting job, so we had a no shoes rule to keep it clean.

There were always things that we would bring; Jack would have his staff, no surprise to anyone, Astrid and Hiccup would bring their dogs to keep us company, Hiccup carrying a small leather-bound sketchbook as well just to pen down some wonky yet genius design, and Flynn would bring some sport-related item whether it was a small football or a hula-hoop, just for entertainment. Merida never let her satchel out of her sight; there was always a good supply of food and water as well as an extension cord with multiple outlets for, you guessed it, charging our phones. Rap had the responsibility of bringing none other than her guitar, and I had nothing to bring except sometimes a sketchbook to scribble down some cool outfits or funny quotes. Or just to draw random things; I'd always found myself naturally inclined to the arts.

Typically, I would sit down at the dying piano and improvise a few of the newer songs. Rap would pull out her guitar and sing along while Merida whistled the harmony. Okay, I lied. I'm not entirely self taught; until I was about twelve, I took piano lessons and my mom would help me practice at night. Overtime I quit, but most of the techniques had been retained due to my addiction to playing.

I had, however, stopped after my parent's death. The memory of my mother's hands gracing over the keys like mine was just too painful for me to bear.

One memory stood out more than the others, though.

We were maybe fourteen or fifteen, and all of us were gathered in the barnhouse playing truth or dare. We were arranged in a circle, beanbags and all, around the piano so that if I turned around on the bench, I'd face all of them.

We laughed to the point where we almost began to cry and since we were such close friends, almost any dare was possible.

Jack had dared Astrid and Hiccup to hold hands for a minute straight (and this was still when they were in denial.) I swear Astrid turned so red that even her hair started to take on a pinkish tint, contradictory to her normal, chill composure. And Hiccup's facial expression of discomfort and tension was beyond words hilarious; his prosthetic was, unfortunately, obvious proof of his nervous shifting. Then of course, straight after, Astrid punched Hiccup straight in the arm. That, in hindsight, seemed to have started a very healthy relationship. Go figure.

There was another one where Astrid, that genius of a girl, dared Flynn to put on some of Rap's peach lip gloss. Rap nearly beat the poor bloke to death because he applied it directly onto his lips. Sure, it was gross, but the ten minute spiel about how it can get dirty and how this was her favorite lip gloss was totally uncalled for, much to Flynn's chagrin. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen.

Jack had managed to get me involved too; when I had picked truth, he asked me if I liked anyone. Thank the lord for his quick tongue because because had he phrased that a bit differently I would have been doomed. However, I was able to answer with a simple undecided as I leaned back against the worn black and white keys. He pouted, knowing that I had found a loophole in his question, but he asked no more.

I walked on forwards in the snow, nearing the old, brown, tattered building, right next to the body of water that we had named Memory Lake after the accident.

Coming up close, it still looked the same as it had from a half a year ago, the last time anyone had had enough time to come and just relax. The past few months had not only included my parents' death but also first quarter exams, midterms, other tests and quizzes, and not to mention college applications for the older ones.

So, in a strange sense, it hadn't just been me that had changed.

I slowly cracked open the door so that snow wouldn't get in and reached my left hand in to turn on the light. As per usual, the light began to buzz, flickered a bit, then regained its dim, yellowish light. I sighed at the comfort; at least something hadn't changed. Lord only knew who paid the electricity bills around here, but I was more grateful to them now than ever knowing that there was still a place where I could be alone, still a place I could reference as home.

This would be my safe haven.

Rapidly opening then shutting the door to keep it warm, I sprinted into the old barn house. I ran through the dimly-lit room to the space heater in the corner, switching it onto the highest setting. It sparked and groaned, like it always did, but the resulting heat was more than satisfying.

From the one window by the door, I could see that it was starting to get dark, and yet the storm still raged on. Frankly, though, the cold was never a horrible problem for me. Sure, it was cold, and metaphorically it was lonely, but it was the best way to go, though I couldn't fight the flood of calmness that ran through me as the space heater began to do its job.

Taking some leisurely time to admire the old shabby place, I raised my chin to look around, back in a slight slouch. I smiled at the old rustic walls, peeling and chipped from the span of years it had stayed standing. The small room brought forth a surge of old memories, so many that I had forgotten, and even the smallest ones that I had overlooked in my earlier recounting.

Crossing the space, I allowed my bare feet, cold and wet, to truly sink into the ground and feel the soft, slightly dirtied, yet still comforting carpet bringing back all of the days that Rap, Merida and I used to spend just lying on the ground making carpet angels on our down days.

Then, I sat down at the seat of the piano. The keys were ice cold and when I played the first few chords, and I could hear all of the notes going sharp and flat all over the place, but it would do. Grabbing my notepad from my bag, I set it on the music stand with a pen, ready for any song inspiration to hit.

Recently in my spare hours (seeing that I didn't really spend much time with anyone,) I'd come up with a nice intro with a few chords to a song I hadn't yet written, and I was looking to complete it.

As I played through it a few times, it transitioned to tens of hundreds of combinations of other songs; the little tune my mother sang to Anna to get her to come outside (which I sang out loud,) Jack's favorite song, a trio that Rap, Merida, and I had put together when we were fourteen for the school talent show, and practically everything else.

Then, out of no where, I began to hum a new melody. It sounded a bit depressing at first, but as my fingers and humming continued, it shifted to the major key, bringing a smidge of hope into the melody. Abruptly stopping, I scribbled down the notes onto paper, using a simple system of numbers, dots, and bars that my mother had taught me to quickly notate tune. I continued, scribbling down the shortcuts for the chords.

I continued to play, adding and pausing at random spots to record my progress.

When I was finally done with the tune, I sat for a minute, just quietly, waiting for the lyric inspiration to come.

When suddenly, it hit me.

I'd always been told that music and love had a huge power to heal. But never had I understood exactly why.

All this time, all of my shutting out and pushing away had done me no good at all. My heart had been frozen cold and it was all my fault to start with, for my fear of hurt for myself and in other people surpassed my common sense.

There was no way that I wasn't hurting right now. Everything I had done in the past few months had been in vain, only causing myself more pain that I already had. By blasting words of hurt to Jack I had not only hurt him but myself; I couldn't deny that I didn't care about him.

All of the pain I'd put Astrid, Rap, and Merida through; it was all completely avoidable! I had been so selfish, so caught up in trying to keep myself free from pain that I had only hurt them all more by being detached and in turn hurt myself because they were in pain.

One funny thing was that I never feared death; I only feared the effect that death was able to have on people. That was why I didn't want to die, because my loved ones would suffer for my being gone.

But Jack was right. A while ago, he had sent me an email. I read it and deleted it, not wanting to even have the desire to respond knowing that sooner or later I would give in. It said: "Elsa, please, cmon, come back, we miss u, please, its like ur dead now. i kno ur still in there. Cmon. -J"

For the past few months, I had been like the living dead. I had forfeited my old personality full of life and passion for a cold shell of a girl who only used to exist. But I know now that I can't do that anymore.

Besides, the whole "conceal, don't feel" thing hadn't worked out, had it? Because Jack figured it out, and Merida and Rap knew exactly what was going on. Astrid could read me better than a book and Flynn and Hiccup sensed some change. So much for not letting it show.

And the one solution was to get rid of all of the fear. My parents were dead, yes, but that was more of a reason to carry on. Once more, I found Jack to be correct. He had told me that you have to tell everyone you love that you love them and "live life to the fullest" before it's too late. I had done the exact opposite.

So I deduced to the fact that I only had one thing to do: let it go.

Then, lyrics came to me immediately.

"Let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore," I sang to the melody I'd written earlier.

I tested it out with the chords and the notes fell in perfect alignment with the syllables.

I continued testing and writing in my messy scrawl until I had something like a song. All the while, I thought of how hurt my friends must be and what an apology I owed them.

Hitting the final chords, I sighed in satisfaction, pleased with the work I'd completed.

Everything I'd felt inside; the ice, the cold, concealing and not feeling, the discomfort of a storm inside, even the current weather in the state of a blizzard, inside and out; everything was in the song. Music was my outlet to release everything, and this time, it really had healed me.

So I played the intro and began to sing my newly written work:

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to receive. A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen. The wind is howling like the swirling storm inside. Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried."

I choked up a bit at this point, feeling the pain in failure and real struggle conveyed with these words.

"Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Well, now they know!" I sang, a bit of frank frustration building in my mind at my inability to complete the simple task I'd given myself. Then again, I didn't need to now.

"Let it go, let it go! Can't hold it back anymore! Let it go, let it go, turn away and slam the door. I don't care what they're going to say, let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway," I voiced with conviction, knowing that the bit of ice that threatened to take over once more wouldn't move from where it was, lodged in the depths of just a memory. I didn't mind if Stacy and Gigi were going to full on come after me all over again because no matter what happened, I was only me, and I had so many people who I loved, I was loved by them. They would protect me, and I would be me again.

I felt a cold breeze come from the direction of the door, but I assumed it was just a little draft from the window. I was completely immersed in my music, pouring out my emotions into the song that spoke my truth.

"It's time to see what I can do, to test the limits and break through. No right, no wrong, no rules for me; I'm free!"

I sang on, emptying out into my soul into the music that I made. As I continued, I began to get near the end. When I got to the final chorus, I closed my eyes and played the chords by memory, belting out the words. In my head, I thought: _I am Elsa Arendelle. I am a junior in highschool, age 16, and I have people friends and family who love me. I don't have anything to be afraid of._

"Let it go, let it go! I'll rise like the break of dawn! Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone! Here I stand and here I'll stay. Let the storm rage on! The cold never bothered me anyway."

I paused after finishing the last few notes, breathing in deeply. I sighed in content, having accomplished more that just one thing today, and neither of which were very simple.

I remained in my little trance, more relaxed than I had been for what seemed like forever. My heart was surging with guilt for all that I'd done to everyone, but the feeling of eradicating a burden as heavy as life itself was more than satisfying.

My thoughts were interrupted at the sharp, lonely applause coming from behind me. Shocked, I didn't run around just yet, trying to gouge my exact surroundings, and by the sound of the clap, I knew that there was only one person behind me. I then heard sound of a voice, an all too familiar voice.

"Hey, Elsie."

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**Ooooohhh who is it? Haha I bet you know! :3 Thank you guys so much for reading! The song is "Let it Go" originally by the creators of Frozen (it's pretty key in the movie...)**

**Please tell me what you think! Did you like it, yes, no, maybe, perhaps, hate it, love it, tell me why! Please R&R, any questions will be answered as well.**

**Thanks for bearing with me, guys, I know that the fluffless story is a little painful. But next chapter, I promise :) Thanks for reading!**

**~PianoPanda12**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Thanks for bearing with me (sorry for the 6 day wait.) I'm aware I messed up the writers of "Let it Go" last chapter; I fixed it and I'm sorry if I upset you. Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 8: Jack's POV**

I ran out into the cold, unprotected and underdressed. I was not expecting a storm as bad as this. My unclothed fingers froze at the sight of the accosting winds as my nose reddened at the frigid ice blowing at my face.

But I went on, knowing exactly where she was. Where Elsa was.

I remembered certain moments and knew that this would be the only place to go. There had been nights of family, friendship, truth or dare. Everything that defined who we were. Who we are. Music, comedy, art, sports. It had all happened in that one very place. And I knew that since we hadn't gone there in almost forever, this was the place.

I remembered the time Elsa had dared me to do the worm and she ended up having to teach me because I honestly didn't know how. Not to mention, Flynn recorded it just to blackmail me.

There was this other time when I had dared Merida to go the rest of the night without using sarcasm. She didn't utter a word for the entire time. Typical of her, though. Sarcasm was her second nature. A Merida without sarcasm was like a blizzard with no snow. I know. Makes no sense. Hiccup seemed to get a kick out of her silence, though, since she typically didn't lay off of him with the insults or sarcastic comments.

There was this other time when Astrid dared me to let Rap do my hair. After what felt like centuries of my scalp being twisted, pulled, shoved, and possibly destroyed, I had something like a flower-filled crown of braided blah as my hair. Possibly the worst hour of my life.

Thousands of other laughs and cries had gone down here; we had one night of disaster when it got pretty confrontational and all of us just cried like babies. Of course, we were close enough to know that whatever happened within the barnhouse stayed within the group of us.

I walked on through the snow, one foot after the other despite the fact that the cold pushed me back with every step. I was nearing the edge of the street by this point; halfway there. I was so so close to her, yet so far. Breathing deeply, hands in my pockets, I willed myself forward.

As I trudged along, I thought of all that Elsa and I had ever gone through together. The college program, all the countless nights spent talking, those few encounters on skype, when we skyped when she was at camp (and to my amusement when her friends were so convinced that I was her boyfriend, despite her telling them all the while that I was "just like a brother." They then proceeded to talk about incest and I practically laughed my head off at Elsa's deep red flush.)

Oh, and I should also explain that Merida was set on the two of us, that is, me and Elsa, getting together. She had called the rest of the couples way beforehand, and that crazy girl, who knows how, knew that Rap and I weren't going to work out. And it's almost funnier that she's the only one who is "single" in her book, yet at the same time is a "love expert" for all of us; I have to concede partial defeat, however, since she called Flynn and Rap way before any of us. Although, I have to admit, I always had a prodding feeling that Astrid and Hiccup were going to become a thing sooner or later.

In the midst of my thoughts, I felt a vibration from my pocket. I whipped out my phone and checked it, head bent over so the screen didn't get too wet from the snow. The text was from Mara, and it read: "Good luck finding her, Come home soon I got u chocolates -M" My ice cold composure melted into a silly grin as the thought of chocolate seeped into my mind. Mara knew my favorite brand and flavor, too; oh that little girl was too kind.

That was another thing; the gang had a serious thing for sweets and chocolate. Merida and Rap were, or at least I was convinced, sugar-dependent. The two of them leapt upon a pack of skittles like rabid dogs one time. Which is why Merida has been responsible for bringing food ever since.

I couldn't help but love my sister Mara; she was the sweetest little thing, only a freshman. Yet, even with the first year of highschool, three clubs, and figure skating on her plate, she was still the same as ever. Sure, she was a little more distant because of everything she had to do (not to mention also keeping up her straight A's.) But she was still understanding as ever and willing to talk. Of course, that was greatly reciprocated. With all of the shifts in friend groups that she and her friends had gone through, I had been there as a shoulder to cry on when our mom was on longer shifts, being a single mom and all.

I was so thankful to have such a great family; after my dad passed away when I was four, my mom was able to stay strong and nurse Mara who was only one at the time. My mom has worked double shifts since then in order to support us and give us the means to skate. She's done everything that a good mom could ever do. I in no way blamed my mom for partially missing out on Mara's teenage struggles, and neither did Mara, because we both understood why my mom worked like she did to make sure we didn't ever go through a day without a meal on our plate.

As I replied to Mara's text with a thanks and little smiley emoticon, I was nearing the shabby old barnhouse that held countless memories. I swore to myself that I would never allow this disgusting building to be demolished; it meant too much to me, Mara, Anna, Elsa, everyone.

That was another thing; without Anna, Mara wouldn't have made it through middle school. Elsa played a huge role in shaping Anna, so I had the both of them to thank for Mara's survival. Those years had been tough for her; the other girls made fun of her for wearing jeans everyday and all of her former friends had abandoned her. Only Anna had stayed her friend. There was another girl from the Native American Reservation not too far from Wintervale who was in their grade; I think her name was Tiger, but everyone called her Lily because she was such a gentle, playful girl. I'd met her a few times when Mara brought her over. But after Lily and her family moved away to a different state, Anna was the only one who had been there for her at school.

I made a mental note to myself to thank Elsa for that sometime.

As I kept thinking about Elsa, I thought about what she'd last said to me. She said I'd lied to her about something, and truth was that I had. But it had only been to keep things simple; I didn't want to complicate the way things actually were between us. She said that I had loved someone for the past few years. And I had. But what she didn't know was that it had been her the whole time. And everything she said night by night, all of the advice and consolation she's provided had only made me love her more.

But she couldn't know just yet. I'd tell her, but the time had to be right.

I continued my path through the snow, now only about 50 yards from the barnhouse. Perhaps now the time would be right; I had nothing else left to lose, really.

The silence of the storm was haunting yet inviting; snow was my element, after all. As I listened carefully, I could've sworn I heard music. But I shook it off as nothing; I'd assumed that in her solitude, Elsa hadn't even touched the piano for the past few months since she was so stuck in herself.

I kept quiet, however, convinced that my ears were lying to me. Despite the cold, I stopped in my tracks, listening to any possible noise coming from the barn. I heard beautiful piano chords and melodies, ones that sounded like some of Elsa's original songs that she'd shown me before.

Then came a wave of improvised songs that I'd heard on the radio and I knew that it had to be her. She was the only one I was aware of in this area that had that ability. It was a talent that had never failed to amaze me no matter how many times I'd seen it in person; as long as she knew the song, she could just sit down and play.

In my excitement in having confirmed my guess as to where she was, I sprinted straight ahead towards the barn. I was greeted with the sweet aroma of Elsa's gentle touch on the keys of the piano and the warm glow of the dying light bulb from within the barnhouse.

I arrived at the doorstep within seconds. As I lifted my hand to twist the doorknob, I stopped at the sound of an unfamiliar tune. And did I hear singing?! Dear God, Elsa was singing! It had been so long since I'd last hear her singing voice, seeing that she hadn't been herself for so long. She sang words and a melody that were foreign to me; I'd never heard anything remotely like it before. An original, I assumed.

I stood there, shocked. How could she have changed from cold, fake and hostile to being herself again within the past few hours? I concluded that the mind of a female adolescent was absolutely incomprehensible.

I took a few deep breaths, creaked open the door and quietly snuck in, careful not to make much noise. I thanked whoever had originally made it like this that the piano was in the back corner of the room opposite the space heater where we left our shoes during the winter, and the fact that Elsa was facing away from me.

As I crept over to the heater, I heard Elsa begin to mutter some notes under her breath, something to the effect of "let it go, cold… bothered me…."

I smiled at the sight of her boots placed neatly next to the heater compared to mine simple sprawled on the floor. Typical of the two of us. It reminded me of the way things could have been. Mara's chocolate forgotten, I inched forward, careful not to make a noise.

Her concentration seemed fully focused on the song, her fingers blowing through the keys as her lips moved in sync, singing her heart into her lyrics which seemed to convey who she had been. Listening in on what she was singing, I realized that it was an outlet to all that she had been keeping in. I knew that she'd been reserved and hiding something, but who knew that behind emotionless Elsa, all the passion was still there after all.

Crossing the space between us, I listened to her thoughtful lyrics and her beautiful melody. I realized that I had overlooked the inner turmoil that had been within her; all of her words explained all that she had felt.

In some sense, I was really proud of her. She was finally getting the hang of it.

"Let it go, let it go," she sang, passion filling all of the empty spaces in between words. "I'll rise like the break of dawn. Let it go, let it go, that perfect girl is gone. Here I stand, and here I'll stay. Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway."

In awe and happiness at her coming back, I began to clap, slowly, but still in reverence to her beautiful voice and talent. I didn't know if I'd ever get used to how amazing she was. And seeing her suddenly so free and happy; it reminded me of why I'd fallen in love with her in the first place so many years ago.

She seemed to jump in place from surprise (in retrospect, I wouldn't blame her; I had intruded her personal hideout without her knowing, after all) and stayed where she was, as if she was in denial of another person being present at the moment.

I only smiled at her typical, trademark reaction and said in almost a whisper: "Hey Elsie."

Slowly spiraled around. Elsa Arendelle looked me in the eye, a grayish fear beginning to seep into her irises.

My eyes widened at her sudden change. "Sorry, Elsa," I said, attempting to patch up my scaring her. "Didn't mean to startle you. I just– Mike called me and I came to look for you. I knew you'd be here," I say, eyes averting her gaze.

She gasped. "Mike! Oh shoot, Jack, they'll be so worried, I'd better go–"

She got up and attempted to move towards the door.

I scoffed and caught her elbows. "Oh no you don't," I said gently, smirking all the while. "You've ran away from me too many times already."

We both breathed in deeply, eyes closed as if we were about to undergo some massive challenge. And indeed I was.

"We need to talk."

The both of us looked at each other, startled, upon realizing that we'd just said that in unison. She blushed and I looked away, pretending to be interested in the ceiling's chipping woodwork.

After a long, awkward silence, she was the first to talk.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

I looked at her, eyes wide, and did a double take.

She understood my reaction and looked at me with a forlorn look in her eye. "Look Jack, I really am sorry about everything I've done to you in the past few months. Let me just explain–"

I smiled slightly, and within seconds my smile exploded into a huge grin.

I laughed a dry, frank laugh and began to speak. "Elsa, it's okay, I understand. Really, Elsie, I do," I said, my words stained with my smiling lips.

She sat down and I followed suit, crossing my legs as she did hers.

"No, Jack," she said. "I really need to talk this out, okay?" she said, smirking at the end, reiterating the words I'd told her just a few hours ago.

She breathed deeply and began. "Look, Jack, I know I've been pushing you away for the past few months. And believe me when I say this, I hated it just as much as you did."

She eyed me uncertainly, as if she was expecting a reaction at that. I simply nodded, beckoning her to continue.

"It was just, since you know, when we were little and I hurt Anna and everything, I just didn't want to be the cause of anyone else getting hurt. And when my parents died, I felt how bad it was to feel someone you love disappear and hurt for them. And I just– I just didn't want you to feel what I did, or Rap, or Merida, or anyone."

At this point, I was going to step in and tell her that I didn't mind that, but she held up her hand, a signal that she wasn't finished yet.

"Which is why I cut myself off and became fake and different so that you wouldn't be compelled to be attached to me," she said, as if it justified what she had done. "And I know you; you think it's better to get close to people than lose them without having loved them or whatever, but my parents went just like that," she said, snapping her fingers loudly to further prove her point. "I think we both understand how quick and sudden and painful that was."

I sighed. The girl did have somewhat of a point. But apparently, she had more of a point to make.

"Jack, I was an idiot, though." she said, laughing in spite of herself. "All of what I'd done had been in vain, and none of it had helped me at all. Now I realize that I'd only hurt myself and all of you guys more, you especially. I'm really so so sorry. If you'd be willing to make it like it was before, well…"

Getting up from where I sat, I moved to right beside her, legs crossed straight in front of me. She looked at me, slightly hunched over, worry written all over her face.

I smiled at her and wrapped my right arm around her. "Elsa, I'm just so glad you're back. You've always been a sister to me, no matter if you were being… different… or not. Nothing you ever do can change that, hear me?" I asked, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

She smiled slightly and nodded, but her face took on an expression of deep contemplation.

I sighed and looked down at her, opening my lips to ask what she was thinking about.

But before I could, she spoke, voice shaky and unsure: "I guess you have something you should tell me, don't you?"

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**AHHHH sorry for the cliffhanger again, didn't want to make this chapter outrageously long. **

**Again, so sorry about the 6 day wait. I was REALLY REALLY busy with Chinese New Year and everything (happy new year and 恭喜发财 ****to those of you who celebrate). Next chapter should be up soon!**

**Any questions, concerns, annoyances, comments, please review below! Thanks for reading!**

**~PianoPanda12**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Here's another chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 9: Elsa's POV**

And there I sat, in Jack's arms, simply enjoying the way his touch felt on my shoulder.

I was still in shock at the fact that he'd found me.

Then again, I couldn't really be that surprised; he was basically like my brother, anyways. Or at least, he knew me like one.

It had always been a thing; me calling him bro, him calling me sis. Before bed, greeting eachother at school, or even introducing one another to people we'd never met before. This one guy, I think his name was Eric or something, got the vibe that we liked each other. Of course, he didn't know the truth that we didn't. Or the supposed truth, anyways… But we then made this funny thing where we were like "yeah we're brother and sister." And Jack went all out with it, saying that his family had adopted me and everything. Eric gave us this funky look for about five minutes straight before we popped the "Just kidding." He suddenly looked insanely relieved and said to us: "well thank God because I was about to start cracking incest jokes."

Jack and I both turned red but started laughing like mad; too many memories, too many memories.

I stayed deep in thought, feeling Jack's presence by my side. Maybe Gigi and Stacy had been right about me liking Jack. I'd always been in denial about it, claiming we were just brother and sister and all, but… in the past few hours, I realized that he meant so much more to me than just a friend. Sure, I knew him like a brother and he treated me like a sister, but maybe I did like him again. Technically, I'd always had this prodding feeling inside me, and like every other teenage girl, I had fantasies about cute dates but whenever my mystery man turned around, I'd always see… Jack's face.

And I'd had these "daydreams" more than often. Actually, I dreamt about them way more than I should've; him taking me to go make ice sculptures (seeing we were both winter people,) him taking me ice skating and not letting go of me for a single second, eating shaved ice in the summer on the top of a grassy hill. I know, totally cliche.

And in that awful moment, I realized that I really did like Jack. Maybe even love. All those emails I'd sent with the I love yous at the end… they'd really been true to some extent.

SHOOT. No. This couldn't be happening. Shoot. God no!

I closed my eyes and attempted to keep a straight face as I realized what I'd just done to myself. Jack was in love with someone. Correction, has been in love with someone for so many years. And I knew that it wasn't right; Stacy and Gigi were right. Deep down, I'd always known it. Jack was too good for me. He was president of the student body, for crying out loud! Not only that, but captain of the varsity hockey team, one of the top students of his class AS WELL AS a total jokester and beloved class clown.

Of course I couldn't top that. Who was I anyways, for him to even know me?

Nonetheless, the question still bubbled to my lips as I spoke calmly, yet my voice still shook: "I guess you have something you should tell me, don't you?"

I heard him suck in a quick breath. Turning my face to look at him, I ignored the fact that the fringe on my left side of my head fell onto my face.

He smirked at this. "Hey, you've got those hipster bangs again," he said, flicking a few strands of hair out of the way.

I laughed and shoved him to the left as he tipped over to the side and I straightened my hair. "I'm serious, Jack!" I said, stifling a few chuckles to maintain my point.

He turned to look at me, all sense of humor gone from his expression.

Breathing in deeply, he began. "Look, Elsa, there's so much I need to say to you…" he trailed off, face coated in uncertainty.

"Remember that time I talked about going off into the woods, you know, like on all of those TV shows, and how we had to pick one person from the gang?"

I nodded, eyes wide in curiosity as to where he was going with this.

"Well, I wanted you to be the one who would come with me. Just imagine it; the two of us in the woods, fighting wolves and eating burnt fish!" he said, making a banner-like shape with his hands as if he was advertising the best thing on earth.

I laughed at this, relaxing into my normal old self. Jack was just like that; it was impossible to be weird around him, and then add in the fact that I actually like him a lot. Which explains why I slipped up, oh, well, I don't know, a thousand times.

He chuckled and kept going. "And remember that other time we were here and Merida started getting all saucy and dirty and stuff and how she said that we should–" he made air quotes with his hands at this, "–'really, I mean really, get together, since, like, we're kinda her OTP,' and how we match and everything?"

I smiled at the memory, a knot of anxiety starting to form in my stomach. I tried in vain to keep my inner turmoil away from the surface. But where was he going with this? It sounded like a lot of relationship talk…. God no God no he was going to–. GOD he was really going to answer my question! I had known that this was coming; I'd asked him in the first place, idiot of myself.

Trying to make it appear as I wasn't feeling all of this, I forced myself to mull over the memories of Merida and her spunk. She had in fact said something about that whole "one true pairing" thing and she had told me more than once that she "shipped" us, being me and Jack. I genuinely cracked a smile, remembering my acute denials of her accusations and her heated insistency (in a poorly imitated Jamaican accent, might I add,) that "De-Nile is more dan just a River in Egypt."

Jack continued speaking without noticing my hitch in emotion. His eyes seemed focused on something internally; it was as if he was having the same struggle as me. But no; that was impossible… right?

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**Jack's POV**

My palms began to get sweaty as I mentioned Merida's old jokes about me and Elsa being together. I wasn't exactly sure about how exactly I was going to tell her that I loved her (or just liked, for now since I didn't want to absolutely creep her out and lose her trust that I'd just won back with much struggle.) And with the first sentence that I spoke, I had essentially dropped the grenade.

My eyes were askew; I wasn't especially focused on any point in space; I was more freaking about what I was going to say next.

Without thinking, I just spoke from my heart as if it was just another email. Yeah, just another email.

"And what about the time we went skating together, just us at the rink at the other end of town? And then we discovered the oh-so-awful secret that Flynn Rider couldn't skate," I said, laughing in spite of myself at the hilarious memory of Flynn, the all-tough athlete who couldn't skate, to my absolute amusement.

I eyed Elsa from the corner of my eye, seeing her crack a smile, the usual inspired glint back in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel my stomach heat up in joy as I watched her smile–creepy, I know, but she was my best friend after all– because I knew that the old her was officially back.

But I digressed. I knew that there was something that I had to tell her. I swallowed down an intangeable lump of nerve as I slowly began my confession.

"And that time Hiccup dared me to hug the person I liked, and how I said I didn't have anyone to hug and all since I didn't like anyone?" I started, trying to stay calm.

She nodded, eyebrows raised slightly as she knew that I was starting to answer her question.

I looked down at my bare feet and eyed my staff in the corner with my shoes.

"Well…." I trailed off, chickening out before I even cut to the chase.

She put a hand onto my shoulder, looking at me with understanding.

"Elsie you know I'm really not very good with this whole talking thing…. I'm not exactly that great at revealing myself to others…"

She nodded, patting my shoulder. "You don't have to say directly. I'm a smart kid, you know," she said, smirking, which only made me feel a sudden wave of affection for her. She knew me so well.

Heeding her advice, I began a more indirect path of telling her that I loved her.

"Just… just think about what else happened that night," I said, trying to lead her on.

"And that's my confession," I say simply, folding my hands together and plopping them into my lap. At a lack of better words, I turned my head toward her, face unsure, scrutinizing her every expression. Currently, her eyes were closed as if trying to recall what had happened.

And I sat there, awaiting the moment when the grenade finally went off.

* * *

**Elsa's POV**

I closed my eyes in thought, thinking of what happened.

As if I was suddenly pulled back into time, I felt myself relive the moments and hours that followed that night of truth or dare.

I remembered all of us leaving that night, playing a long game of man-hunt before leaving. And I remembered Jack finding me in my spot. As I darted to the left, he hadn't anticipated it and I'd gotten my chance to run. Unfortunately, Jack was always a better athlete. He came up from my right and grabbed my shoulder. I, being the complete klutz I was (being a lanky teenager and all,) tripped and fell to the side.

And the oh-so-chivalrous Jack Frost just let me fall to my side, laughing at me all the while. Despite my immediate flush and embarrassment, I began to laugh along with him, reflecting on my own stupidity.

He reached down and grabbed my hand, laughing as I deliberately shook my hair in his face as if it was dirty. He swatted at my white-blonde hair, mock-coughing as if I'd gotten dust into his throat. "Good job, Elsa," he said, chuckling lightly, ruffling my hair, much to my irritation. "You're the last one to be found." He pulled me…

Oh my God. He pulled me into a hug.

I paused my flashback just then, suddenly realizing what that meant.

Opening my eyes, I tilted my head in his direction, pulling my conscience into the present with me.

His eyes were worried as he looked at me, as if he was searching for some sense of consolation within my eyes.

I nodded in confirmation and he closed his eyes, breathing deeply from his nose.

We sat there, separate yet as one in tension and uncertainty, absolutely silent in deep cogitation and awkward atmosphere.

He broke the silence finally, starting a conversation that I would never forget. "So… now you know."

I breathed deeply. "Yeah, I guess I do."

He smiled dryly, continuing. "Well, you know that I've loved you for a long time. A-a-and I know you… might not… you know… like me back or anything… and I'm not asking you to change! I'm not asking the way we are to change at all!" he said, suddenly flabberghasted at how his words had come out.

I simply watched, frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

He hung his head and took a deep breath. "Look, Elsa, all I'm asking is that you can come back. As my girlfriend or as my sister, I don't care," he said, a sudden boldness showing in his voice as he proclaimed his thoughts. "But I do need to know about you too; what is this?" he asked, motioning to the space between us.

I was dumbfounded at his sudden outburst, voicing his thoughts so clearly.

"Jack," I started, not sure how to attack this task. "Look, you have to know that I haven't been completely honest. Well, okay I thought I was, but turns out, I, well, okay well no, it's not that I was lying the whole time, I just sort of, I–"

Jack put a hand on my shoulder, smirking at me one sidedly with a somewhat encouraging undertone.

"Okay, well, today, I realized that, well, this whole time, I've sort of liked you too," I said, stuttering through my near-incoherent sentence.

I wasn't able to gouge his reaction because of the blood pounding noisily in my ears. I gulped nervously; the truth was out from the both of us.

Jack cleared his throat and began to speak. "Well, what do you want to do?"

I sighed, thinking the same question as him. "We have to think rationally, Jack, I can't just… recover like this and then potentially just throw my heart away…"

He grabbed my shoulders and turned my face towards his. Staring deeply into my eyes, he said: "Elsa, you have to trust me. I've loved you for so long; you have to know that I'd never hurt you. And I'd do anything I could to keep you from getting hurt." His voice was gentle yet forceful, sincere and genuine.

I smiled slightly; the brotherly, protective nature of his attitude towards me was showing through. "Jack, I don't know if I can."

He smiled at me. "Well then I guess I'll have to take the leap of faith to start this."

And he leaned down in the spur of the moment and gently pressed his lips to mine, stealing my first kiss. Butterflies formed in my stomach as I was suddenly aware of what was happening. They didn't go away, but they weren't exactly a bad feeling. Screw that, this was the most thrilling thing I'd ever felt! And suddenly my feelings for Jack were clear, and I knew that I'd loved him more than a brother for a while now.

As he pulled away, I sighed, wrapping my arm around him and leaning my head onto his shoulder.

"Maybe we could, you know, give us a try. I mean, freak, I'm back anyways! Now or never, right?" I said, imitating him with a funny twitch of the face and sarcastic wave of my left arm.

He laughed and kissed my hair gently. "Yeah, now or never," he breathed almost inaudibly.

Suddenly, a loud ringing came from his pocket.

He whipped out his phone and answered it. "Hello?" he asked, sounding slightly irritated yet amused at the comedic interruption.

I heard a croaky voice at the other end, unclear because of the bad reception. But I knew it was Mike's.

"Shoot," I said to myself. I'd totally forgotten.

Jack only laughed at whatever Mike was saying (probably me, too,) and replied: "No worries, I found her Mike." He paused, listening, then bursted out into laughter. "No, no, you don't need to call the police, you can trust me, I've got her. Yeah, she's totally okay. Alright. I'll bring her home soon. Thanks," he said, still laughing, and hung up.

I got up, ready to go since I probably had Mike and Mellie worried sick. It was enough having Anna overseas on exchange, and not to mention I'd gone missing.

Jack stood up behind me and abruptly wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me off my feet.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?" he asked, his grin almost audible in his voice.

I only laughed as he put me down, accidentally voicing my thoughts out loud: "You know, I could get used to this."

I slapped my hand onto my mouth, realizing that I'd actually said it.

He laughed at my show of beating myself up, finding amusement in the fact that I'd accidentally slapped myself too hard as I massaged my chin.

"Shut up, Frost," I grumbled playfully, shoving his shoulder.

He only smiled at me and swept my mess of hair over my left shoulder, brushing my fringe behind my hear.

"Okay, Arendelle, okay."

* * *

**Ahhhh! Sorry about any typos or bad writing/grammar. I've got really big exams coming up and needed to post this chapter as my study break :-/**

**Thanks so much for reading! Any questions, comments, criticisms, confusions, please review! Thank you also to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed this story, means a lot ;)**

**~PianoPanda12**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Sorry about the SUPER LATE update... you can expect them once every week or so from now on; I've got lots to do! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Elsa's POV**

Life is life. That was what I thought. But now, it was alive again. It was fun, new, interesting, everything it was before.

After Jack had somehow fished the old me out again, I'd assimilated back into the gang and they accepted me with open arms, as if I'd never left in the first place.

Rap and Merida managed to forgive me too, and Astrid, upon realizing that I was back, punched me in the arm before wrapping me up into a huge bear hug on the verge of tears. She was in essence, a second mom to me. She'd been there for me since third grade when she moved to Wintervale, always standing up against the bullies when Jack wasn't there to do it. She'd always been so protective towards me; despite her rash, wild, and slightly violent nature, she was actually really maternal, even if she did have a thing for spiky jewelry.

We had a bit of a girls outing the day after Jack found me; we went the mall and had a sleepover and all. It was nice to know that even if I'd changed, my friends hadn't.

Astrid was running around with spiky bracelets and skull pendants while Merida was picking out anything green or blue. Rap practically dragged me into the music store, oogling over a flower-painted acoustic guitar. I, on the other hand, was open to anything blue, and was looking especially for something snowflake. I wanted to be able to remember the reason why I shut down, and more importantly, the reason I came back.

After a long day at the mall and some money spent, We retired back to Rap's house for a long night ahead.

We sat in her room with a small 49-key synthesizer in the corner, a pink beanbag, a few guitars and hundreds of paintings displayed in a mosaic-like pattern on the wall, a few of them that I recognized since we had worked together on them.

I took the piano stool, Rap and Merida took the bed, and Astrid lounged on the beanbag. These seats had never really been decided officially; they sort of just _became_, with an unspoken rule that we were never to take another's seat.

And I couldn't have been more thankful that even subtle things like this hadn't changed.

* * *

School was nearly back to normal, also. Nearing the home stretch, we were placed in the end of March. The Varsity Hockey team had dominated nationals (much to Jack's excitement) and the spring season was in full motion, Flynn dominating the playing fields with all of his "jocky-business", as we liked to call it.

Merida and the archery team were competing every other week, and Astrid was leading her track and field team to victory. Everything was almost perfect, or close as it was ever going to get.

Then of course, the arrival of spring also meant Anna's return from her term abroad. She had signed up for the quarter right after christmas, and since our parents had passed just around then, it was only a cruel twist of fate to the trip that she had so earnestly looked forward to.

Of course, Mike and Mellie, being the sweet people they were, let her go even though they had only recently adopted us. I, on the other hand, had retreated to wherever I went for a few months.

As we neared the end of the quarter, my expectations for Anna's return began to waver. She was constantly on my mind, even between classes or at the end of the day as I opened my locker and looked at a picture of the two of us on the door hung up with a snowflake magnet that she'd bought for me when we were younger.

At first, I thought she would have been thrilled to see me again. Then, on further thought, I knew she'd probably angry at me for not even saying goodbye to her (although she didn't know that I watched her from my window the whole time, wanting to have the potential last glance. And even after more time thinking, I began to fear that she didn't want to talk to me anymore, seeing that in my fifteen years of being her older sister, I had done nothing but abandon her for my own selfish reasons.

As I was thinking one day, Jack came by my locker (as per usual,) but he snuck up on me, sure to make it seem as if he wasn't there. He came from behind me and shook my shoulders, causing me to yelp and jump in surprise.

He laughed his casual laugh. "Hey, Elsie," he said, him smile omnipresent.

"Jack, you butt," I said bluntly, sure to whip my braid into his face as I turned back towards my locker to pack up my things.

He only laughed even more and hugged me from the backside, oblivious to my inner thoughts. I turned around and looked him in the eye, suspicious of his sudden lack of overvantness.

I raised my eyebrows in question, giving him a suspicious glare.

Jack, oh good old Jack, just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just glad you're back, Elsa."

I smiled slightly at this, reaching up and ruffling his hair, much to his amused annoyance.

"No, seriously," he said, gaze softening, catching my hand with his atop his head, bringing it down. "I really really missed you, Elsa."

I smiled half-heartedly, and despite his kind words and gentle demeanor, I couldn't get my mind off of the possibilities that Anna may actually end up holding resentment against me.

Thankfully, Jack picked up on my wariness of the situation.

"Hey now," he said, lifting up my chin with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

I smiled gently and shook my head, turning back towards my locker.

He laughed. "Elsa, don't be so typical," he chuckled. "I know when something's wrong. Come on, what is it?"

I averted his gaze and looked at the books in my hand. "Anna's coming back tomorrow," I began, voice thick. "And I just don't know–"

"If she'll want to see you again, or if she'd be willing to accept you after what you've done," he finished gently. I guess my mouth fell open in surprise that he knew exactly what I was going to say, because he lifted his hand to close it. "Elsa, I know you," he said simply, one sided smirk evident on his face.

I shut my locker and swung my bag over my shoulder. We walked alongside each other, exiting the school and into the warm, crisp spring air. Almost all of the snow had melted from last week's storm.

Jack clicked his staff on the worn-down sidewalk, kicking pebbles along the way. I walked silently beside him, still silently distraught.

He peered down diagonally at my face, eyeing my troubled expression.

He laughed quietly and snaked his arm around my shoulders, massaging them slightly. "Talk to me, Elsa. Why would you think that Anna wouldn't love you anymore?" he asked, brutally blunt with a cut-to-the-point manner.

I sighed, grabbing on my shoulder with mine, swinging it around so I could hold it. "Jack, in essence, I abandoned her," I began shakily. "I was never there for her; she was always willing to sit and talk to me, and I would never take the time to because I didn't want to hurt her even more. She never did anything to me. But I did the worst of it all to her, I shut her out."

I looked down at the ground, suddenly aware of how vulnerable I was making myself.

Jack smiled and stroked my knuckles gently with his calloused thumb, formerly blistered by his hand-me-down hockey gloves.

"Elsa, you abandoned me too, right?" he asked softly, with no intention of offending me. "Well I never stopped loving you. As a brother, or as a significant other, or whatever you were willing to think of me as. Do you think Anna would be any different from me?"

I shuddered, averting his kind gaze. I hadn't told him a certain detail about Anna's and my relationship. I knew that she missed me, but I wasn't sure if she was willing to have me back.

He paused mid-step and stopped me from going forwards with his hand around mine.

"You're hiding something again," he said, eyes skeptical. "Tell me, Elsa. It won't do you any good to keep it locked inside."

I breathed out as I told him, walking as I stood.

"Before Anna left, she came to my door. She knocked one last time and sang that snowman song that we both loved. In a moment of boldness, I opened the door to talk to her, only to find that I didn't know what to say. I gave her a hug and told her to take care of herself. And I think she realized that I was still me."

He listened, attention focused onto me.

"Before I shut my door, she caught it. And she asked me why it couldn't always be like that, with the two of us so relaxed, almost like nothing had ever happened. I told her that it just couldn't, and despite her disagreements, I stood firm and said that it just couldn't. She then began to yell, asking why I shut her out and what I ever did to her, sort of like you did, Jack," I said, cracking a dry smile.

I swallowed, regret and guilt flooding my face, shame coating my skin. "And I just shut the door in her face, turning away from her."

By this time in the conversation, we'd arrived at Jack's house. We walked into his backyard, sitting down on the two-person bench swing that we'd always loved as little kids.

I raised one foot up onto the swing, hugging my knee to my chest, the other leg dangling from the white hunk of wood. Jack wat next to me, eyes still on me.

"And Jack, the guilt and regret that I felt for doing that to my own sister… it was almost enough to crush me as a whole," I said almost deadly quiet. "I just wish that I hadn't pushed her away, that I'd realized I was wrong before. I just wish that I'd been able to tell how stupid I was for shutting her out. And I wish that I could tell her that I missed her after all that time." I choked back a sob, not wanting to cry. Yet revealing all of this to Jack was darn close to making me cry like a baby.

Jack put his arm around me, leaning my head onto his shoulder and gently propped up his staff against the swing with his other hand. He stroked my hair, careful not to disturb the messy bun that I'd put up in my hurry this morning and cleared the fallen strands from my face, tucking them behind my ear.

Pressing his lips to my forehead, he spoke. "Elsa, it's okay. It's alright. What's done is done, but you can always fix it. You know what, tomorrow when she comes back, I want you to tell her exactly what you just told me." His voice was strong, firm. Confident, shining with confidence he had in me that I didn't.

"But Jack, what if…." I trailed off, not wanting to face this potential reality. "What if she gave up on me?"

He faced me, giving me his signature, adorable lop-sided smile. "I'd like to bet all of my money that she hasn't. Elsa, if you couldn't get rid of me, you definitely couldn't get rid of Anna," he said, voice determined yet playful. "Remember that she really is your sister; you're all she has left, Elsa. Of course she hasn't given up on you; she loves you more than anything else."

I smiled slightly, though I still had my doubts.

"Good Lord over the Moon, Elsa, you still don't believe me, do you?" he scoffed, white-blonde hair catching a glint of the sunlight as he angled his head to get a better look at my unsure expression. "I'll have to convince you, huh…"

His face lit up with a mischievous grin. My eyes widened and suddenly I experienced a jolting wave of fear, unsure of what he was going to do.

He cracked up at my expression and pulled my face closer to his, capturing my lips with his. Gentle yet reassuring, his presence permeated my mind, and all I could think of was him right in front of me, the boy I'd loved for years, kissing me.

As he pulled away, slightly breathless, he looked at me, eyes shining with his spritely fun. "Do I have you convinced?"

I nodded vigorously, smiling as I breathed out through my nose.

Now all we had to do was wait for tomorrow.

* * *

**Yayyy! Again, sorry about the long wait. I hope the fluff makes up for it! And no worries, things won't be perfect in the next few chapters. Muahaha... just kidding, this story does have a happy ending :)**

**Any questions, concerns, criticisms, please leave a review in the doobeleydoo :)**

**An extra shout-out to all of my beautiful favoriters/followers/reviewers. Thanks for sticking with me and reading!**

**PianoPanda12**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait; in short, school sucks. :-/ Well, hope you enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter 11: Jack's POV**

I couldn't really describe how happy I was that Elsa was back, even if someone paid me to. It was a combination of things different; pride in a younger sister that had finally seen the light, confidence in both her and me that things would be different from now on, and joyous joyous love at seeing her go back to being the shining, albeit overlooked, inspirational leader that she had been before. Her personality that I loved so much was back with the rest of her, older but wiser.

Anna was due to come back tomorrow afternoon, saturday, around 3:00. The plan was to grab lunch with the gang along with Mara and then head over to Corona Airport, Corona being the city closest to our small town, Wintervale.

Of course, we all had our doubts, Elsa especially, but what could you do when you were more dominantly excited?

Words didn't have to be spoken and in these few moments, they rarely were because of our knowing each other so well; we were all near silent, yet the tension of a soundless environment bothered us not because we all knew what was to come.

* * *

The airport was, as always, relatively crowded; parents coming back from a business trip, little toddlers awaiting their daddy and mommy's arrival. Boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives awaiting their loves.

It reminds me, endlessly, of that chick-flick Love Actually that Flynn (I swear, the guy was awesome, but his softspots…) made us watch. It reminded me that love was always existent and that it never failed, no matter the struggle or conflict between the two.

Elsa turned to look at me from her spot beside me, mouthing the words "Love Actually" to me, knowing my exact train of thought. I smiled and squeezed her hand, hoping that my subtle attempt to comfort her had been interpreted correctly.

And then, there in front of us appeared Anna, dressed in her old green sweatshirt that Elsa had given her for her thirteenth birthday. She saw Rap before any of us and her face lit up, elatedly running towards us as fast as her klutziness and luggage would permit.

"Anna-nanna!" Rap cried excitedly, using the old nickname she had come up with a while back.

Anna giggled and wrapped the blondie into a hug, breathing in deeply. "Rapunzel it's so great to see you!" she said, her quirky giddiness shining through.

Flynn then proceeded to break them apart, tapping Anna on the shoulder.

Anna turned around, almost jumping off of her feet. "Flynniebear!" she cried, jumping up onto him, much to his distaste at the sound of his awful and unfortunate nickname.

Still, he returned the hug. "Great to see you, Anna. Meet any cool guys?" he asked, giving her a smoldering twitch of the eye brows. She rolled her eyes at him and kindly punched him in the shoulder.

Astrid, standing right behind Flynn, gave Anna a small smile and wave.

Anna smiled and opened up her arms. "Astrid, comere," she said, forcing Astrid (not much of a hugger, that girl) into a hug. She nicely obliged, seeing no other way out of it.

Hiccup waved silently, beaming at the little girl that was like his little sister, contrasting as their personalities were. "Hey, Anna," he almost whispered, looking strangely proud of her, his happy personality radiating now that she was back too.

She wrapped her arms around him happily. "Hufflepuff and Gryffindor reunite at last," she said, acknowledging their everlasting joke of siblings sorted into separate houses.

Upon Hiccup letting go of her, Merida leapt upon Anna, enveloping her in an accosting web of arms and bright red hair. "Ah, there you are, you little raggamuffin, you," she said, giving Anna a nudgie while she was at it.

Anna only laughed and responded: "Ah Merida, you hooligan."

She then turned in my direction. Seeing Mara, anxiously standing by my side, the two younglings collided in a puff of pinkish energy and youthful bliss. I swear, these two must have been seperated at birth.

I turned towards Elsa amidst their exchange, only to realize that she had gone somewhere. Looking around the crowded premises, I saw no one, but I trusted that Elsa was okay; the girl could handle herself.

Anna tapped me on the shoulder, jumping into an embrace before I had time to react. I chuckled gently and hugged her back, glad that the other half of Elsa had returned. Anna and I didn't especially need words to communicate; seeing that we'd spent a good chunk of our lifetime together and trying to figure out how to get Elsa to come back to us again, there were just some things that didn't need to be said.

Suddenly Anna stiffened, and I knew exactly why.

Elsa was back.

I let go of her rather awkwardly, seeing that she was stuck in place. Her eyes seemed to be glued to her sister, marveling over her appearance.

Elsa's hair was done up in a french twist, a look that I hadn't noticed so much but had some significance that I couldn't quite remember. She was wearing blue, as per usual; just a sweater and dark denim jeans with leather boots that she'd had for almost all of eternity. But I had noticed that Elsa carried herself differently now; she stood up straighter, smiled more, and didn't have an eternal disapproving frown all the time. Her gentle smile was almost always present, as it was now.

Anna looked at her sister as if she'd seen a ghost. Elsa smiled at Anna, but I could tell she was nervous; her hands began to creep towards eachother to be crossed against her chest, a nervous twitch I'd noticed, but were stopped by the Starbucks cups I had only just taken note of in her hands.

"Hi," Elsa said, giggling slightly.

Anna looked at her, eyes wide, and did a double take. "H-hi!" she managed to stutter, shocked at the fact that Elsa was acknowledging her presence. Keep in mind that Elsa had indirectly made an invisible promise to never speak to her sister again before Anna had left in December.

"You've grown, Anna. You look beautiful," Elsa said, voice soft and smooth like a mother comforting her daughter.

"Thanks," Anna answered shakily. "You look beautifuller, I mean, no, not that, but…" she trailed off and averted Elsa's gaze.

Anna breathed in deeply through her nose with her eyes closed, facing her sister. But before she could do that, her eyes snapped open. "Oh, what is that amazing smell?" she asked, suddenly rabid with a curious sense of knowing.

Elsa chuckled softly, inhaling deeply for nostalgic purposes; they'd done this before.

"Chocolate," they breathed out together, bursting out in comfortable laughter.

I watched from afar, my sister next to me. She elbowed me and raised her eyebrow, mirroring my smirk. I stuck out my fist and she bumped it; sibling moment.

The two snapped out of the frozen trance and returned to reality. Elsa handed the beverages off to me as she bounded forward to meet her sister's embrace. The two of them hugged for the first time in what seemed like forever; finally getting the chance to see eachother again, they stood there, experiencing the lack of the presence both of them had needed desperately.

Elsa, on the verge of tears, whispered: "God, Anna, I missed you. So much. I'm so sorry for everything I've ever said to you and done to you; I'm sorry I shut you out."

Anna, biting back tears of her own, clutched her sister tighter. "It's okay, Elsa, it's okay. I missed you so much too, and your hair–"

Elsa choked on a sob and chuckled. "Yeah, it's the way mom used to do hers. I figured we needed her back here somehow."

At this point, the two were well beyond weeping. They were straight out bawling in pure bliss. I watched from afar, touched at how well the two could re-form their close bond.

They let go of each other, and Elsa held her sister at an arm's length apart.

"You know, I like this new Elsa, all nice and open," Anna said, voice genuine and somehow pleading.

A frank smile on her face, Elsa spoke. "I'm so sorry for closing myself to you, Anna, but I'm never closing my doors again."

I walked towards them and wrapped my arms around Elsa whilst handing the cups back to her, kissing her gently on the forehead. What could I say, I was really proud of her and how far she'd come.

Anna responded as expected, mouth wide open, shock evident on her entire body. Mara went ahead and just blurted it out loud: "Yeah, Anna, they're together. I know, shocker right?" she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Never had I ever seen the ginger so happy in my entire life; she may as well have just bounded right into the sky for all it was worth.

To make things even better, Elsa handed a cup of hot chocolate to her now puffy-eyed sister in a sign of truce and sisterly love. Anna's facial expression was worth a million dollars; I was starting to worry that she was going to burst through the roof.

I guess we were ready for a new beginning then, in which we all get used to how things are going to be from now on.

* * *

**Well, that's that! Super short, I know, but... Yeah... so... **

**And I don't really know why but the formatting on FF is a little different so sorry about the awkward spacing and whatnot... **

Questions? Concerns?** Do you think I should continue this story? Let me know in the doobileedoo below :) **

**Thanks guys! **

**~PianoPanda**


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